Integrated circuit contactor, and method and apparatus for production of integrated circuit contactor

ABSTRACT

An integrated circuit contactor includes a base of an insulating material, the base being elastically deformable. A plurality of pads of a first conductive material are bonded to the base at positions corresponding to positions of terminals on an integrated circuit. A plurality of contacts of a second conductive material are bonded to the plurality of pads, respectively, the terminals of the integrated circuit being electrically connected to the contacts only when a pressure is exerted onto the contacts by the terminals of the integrated circuit, each contact having a projecting edge with a roughness produced by pulling a wire of the second conductive material apart from a corresponding one of the plurality of pads after the wire is bonded to the corresponding pad.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an integrated circuit contactor, and amethod and apparatus for production of the integrated circuit contactor,the integrated circuit contactor used to electrically test an integratedcircuit of a large-scale integration (LSI) device with terminals of theintegrated circuit being connected to contacts of the integrated circuitcontactor. Further, the present invention relates to a method of testingan integrated circuit having terminals by using an integrated circuitcontactor.

Recently, there is an increasing demand for an LSI device having a highoperating speed and a high integration level. In conformity with thisdemand, it is needed to achieve,fine-pitch interconnects of terminals onthe LSI device and contacts of a testing device. Hence, it is desired toprovide an integrated circuit contactor which is used for electricaltesting of an integrated circuit of the LSI device with fine-pitchinterconnects of the integrated circuit terminals and contacts of thecontactor. Further, it is desired to assure the reliability of electricconnections between the integrated circuit terminals and the contactor.When testing the integrated circuit with the integrated circuitcontactor, it is necessary that the integrated circuit contactor assuresthe reliability of electric connections between the terminals of theintegrated circuit and the contacts of the contactor.

(2) Description of the Related Art

FIG. 40 shows a conventional integrated circuit contactor which has beendeveloped to electrically test an integrated circuit of an LSI devicewith terminals of the integrated circuit being connected to contacts ofthe integrated circuit contactor. The conventional integrated circuittesting device of FIG. 40 is also called a membrane contactor.Hereinafter, the conventional integrated circuit testing device of FIG.40 will be called the contactor 1.

The contactor 1 of FIG. 40 includes a base 2 of an insulating material(such as a polyimide resin), a plurality of pads 4 of a conductivematerial (such as copper Cu), and a plurality of contacts 3 of anotherconductive material (such as nickel Ni). For the sake of convenience ofdescription, a single contact 3 and a single pad 4 are shown in FIG. 40.

In the contactor 1 of FIG. 40, the contacts 3 of the conductivematerial, such as nickel, are formed on the pads 4 as the metalprojections on the base 2 by using a plating technique. When testing anintegrated circuit with the contactor 1, terminals of the integratedcircuit are connected to the contacts 3 of the contactor 1. To assureelectric connections between the integrated circuit terminals and thecontacts 3, the contacts 3 of the contactor 1 are covered by a platingof gold (Au). In the contactor 1, external terminals (not shown) areprovided on the periphery of the base 2, and the pads 4 are connected tothe external terminals by a wiring (not shown). As the contacts 3 areelectrically connected through the pads 4 to the external terminals,electric signals on the integrated circuit terminals can be respectivelydetected from the external terminals of the contactor 1 when testing theintegrated circuit with the contactor 1.

In a conventional LSI socket, a leaf spring or the like is providedtherein to ensure electric connections between the integrated circuitterminals and the conventional LSI socket. It is difficult for theconventional LSI socket to achieve fine pitch interconnects of terminalsof an LSI device and contacts of the conventional LSI socket. However,the contactor 1 having the contacts 3 is useful to achieve fine pitchinterconnects of the terminals of the LSI device and the contacts 3 ofthe contactor 1.

In the contactor 1 of FIG. 40, the contacts 3 can be easily formed withaccuracy of the positions thereof, and a large number of contacts can besimultaneously formed on the base 2 by using the plating technique.

However, the production of the membrane contactor 1 of FIG. 40 isconsiderably expensive. In a case of the contactor 1, the contacts 3 areformed on the pads 4 by using the plating technique. It takes severalhours (for example, four hours in a certain case) to completely producethe contacts 3 by plating of the conductive material. The productionperiod of the contactor 1 is relatively long, and the manufacturing costis considerably high. Hence, the productivity of the membrane contactor1 for volume production becomes low. In order to increase theproductivity, it is necessary to increase the number of plating bathsand/or the number of masking machines.

Further, it is difficult that the membrane contactor 1 of FIG. 40 iscontinuously supplied to the production line of LSI devices so as tokeep up with the start of volume production of the LSI devices becausethe production period of the contactor 1 is long. In order to suit therequirements of recent LSI devices, such as a multi-chip module, variousdesigns of integrated circuit contactors for testing bare chips orwafers are required. However, the membrane contactor 1 of FIG. 40 isdifficult to meet the requirements of such LSI devices.

Further, it is difficult that the membrane contactor 1 of FIG. 40provides adequate flexibility for the configuration of the contacts 3 onthe base 2. In the case of the contactor 1, the contacts 3 are formed onthe pads 4 by using the plating technique. The contacts 3 are oftenformed with a flat surface or a hemispherical surface by the plating. Toensure reliability of electric connections between terminals of an LSIdevice and contacts of an integrated circuit contactor, it is desirablethat the contacts of the contactor are formed with a projecting edgehaving a roughness which can be stably held in contact with theterminals of the LSI device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved integratedcircuit contactor in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an integratedcircuit contactor which assures good reliability of electric connectionsbetween terminals of an integrated circuit and contacts of theintegrated circuit contactor, and achieves an increased productivity ofthe contactor with low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide anintegrated circuit contactor production method which assures goodreliability of electric connections between terminals of an integratedcircuit and contacts of an integrated circuit contactor, and achieves anincreased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an integratedcircuit contactor production apparatus which assures good reliability ofelectric connections between terminals of an integrated circuit andcontacts of an integrated circuit contactor, and achieves an increasedproductivity of the contactor with low cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an integratedcircuit testing method, using an integrated circuit contactor, whichassures good reliability of electric connections between terminals of anintegrated circuit and contacts of the contactor during testing.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by anintegrated circuit contactor for testing an integrated circuit havingterminals, including: a base of an insulating material, the base beingelastically deformable; a plurality of pads of a first conductivematerial which are bonded to the base at positions corresponding topositions of the terminals on the integrated circuit; a plurality ofcontacts of a second conductive material which are bonded to theplurality of pads, respectively, the terminals of the integrated circuitbeing electrically connected to the contacts only when a pressure isexerted onto the contacts by the terminals of the integrated circuit,each contact having a projecting edge with a roughness produced bypulling a wire of the second conductive material apart from acorresponding one of the plurality of pads after the wire is bonded tothe corresponding pad.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by anintegrated circuit contactor for testing an integrated circuit havingterminals, including: a base of an insulating material, the base beingelastically deformable; a plurality of pads of a first conductivematerial which are bonded to the base at positions corresponding topositions of the terminals on the integrated circuit; a plurality ofcontacts of a second conductive material which are bonded to theplurality of pads, respectively, the terminals of the integrated circuitbeing electrically connected to the contacts only when a pressure isexerted onto the contacts by the terminals of the integrated circuit,each contact having a projecting edge with a roughness produced byforming a piece of the second conductive material with a bonding headafter the piece is bonded to a corresponding one of the plurality ofpads.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by amethod of production of an integrated circuit contactor for testing anintegrated circuit having terminals, the terminals of the integratedcircuit being electrically connected to the contactor only when apressure is exerted onto the contactor by the terminals of theintegrated circuit, the method including the steps of: preparing a baseof an insulating material on which a plurality of pads of a firstconductive material are bonded at positions corresponding to positionsof the terminals on the integrated circuit; and bonding a wire of asecond conductive material to each of the plurality of pads, and pullingthe wire apart from a corresponding one of the plurality of pads so asto form a plurality of contacts of the second conductive material bondedto the plurality of pads, respectively, each contact having a projectingedge with a roughness produced by the step of bonding and pulling of thewire.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by amethod of production of an integrated circuit contactor for testing anintegrated circuit having terminals, the terminals of the integratedcircuit being electrically connected to the contactor only when apressure is exerted onto the contactor by the terminals of theintegrated circuit, the method including the steps of: preparing a baseof an insulating material on which a plurality of pads of a firstconductive material are bonded at positions corresponding to positionsof the terminals on the integrated circuit; transporting a plurality ofpieces of a second conductive material above the plurality of pads onthe base by using a bonding head, the bonding head including a holdingpart for holding the pieces thereon and a bonding part for bonding thepieces to the plurality of pads, the pieces being held by the holdingpart of the bonding head during the transport of the pieces; bonding theplurality of pieces of the second conductive material to the pluralityof pads by using the bonding part of the bonding head respectively; andforming the plurality of pieces bonded to the plurality of pads so as toproduce a plurality of contacts of the second conductive material bondedto the plurality of pads, each contact having a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the step of forming of the pieces.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by anapparatus for production of an integrated circuit contactor for testingan integrated circuit having terminals, the contactor being producedfrom a base of an insulating material on which a plurality of pads of afirst conductive material bonded at positions corresponding to positionsof the terminals on the integrated circuit, the apparatus including: aconveyor which transports the base on which the plurality of pads arebonded; a bonding head which bonds a wire of a second conductivematerial to one of the plurality of pads, and pulls the wire apart fromone of the plurality of pads so as to form a plurality of contacts ofthe second conductive material bonded to the plurality of pads,respectively; and a forming tool which forms one of the plurality ofcontacts of the second conductive material into a predetermined shapeafter one of the plurality of contacts is bonded to a corresponding oneof the plurality of pads, wherein the bonding head and the forming toolare fixed to each other with no relative movement, and the bonding headand the forming tool are simultaneously operated for two of theplurality of pads while the base is transported by the conveyor.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by anapparatus for production of an integrated circuit contactor for testingan integrated circuit having terminals, the contactor being producedfrom a base of an insulating material on which a plurality of pads of afirst conductive material bonded at positions corresponding to positionsof the terminals on the integrated circuit, the apparatus including: adispenser which dispenses a molten drop of a second conductive materialto one of the plurality of pads on the base; and a forming tool whichforms the drop of the second conductive material on one of the pluralityof pads into one of a plurality of contacts of the second conductivematerial bonded to the plurality of pads, each contact having aprojecting edge with a roughness produced by the forming of the drops.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by amethod of testing an integrated circuit having terminals by using anintegrated circuit contactor, the contactor including: a base of aninsulating material, the base being elastically deformable; a pluralityof pads of a first conductive material bonded to the base at positionscorresponding to positions of the terminals on the integrated circuit; aplurality of contacts of a second conductive material bonded to theplurality of pads, respectively, the terminals being electricallyconnected to the contacts only when a pressure is exerted onto thecontacts by the terminals, each contact having a projecting edge with aroughness produced by pulling a wire of the second conductive materialapart from a corresponding one of the plurality of pads after the wireis bonded to the corresponding pad, the method including the steps of:positioning the integrated circuit to the contactor so that thepositions of the terminals on the integrated circuit match the positionsof the contacts on the contactor; applying a pressure to the integratedcircuit so that the integrated circuit is face-down bonded to thecontactor, the terminals being pressed onto the contacts of thecontactor to establish electrical connections between the contacts andthe terminals; and electrically testing the integrated circuit by usingthe contactor, the base acting to absorb the pressure exerted on theintegrated circuit during the testing.

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by amethod of testing an integrated circuit having terminals by using anintegrated circuit contactor, the contactor including: a base of aninsulating material, the base being elastically deformable; a pluralityof pads of a first conductive material bonded to the base at positionscorresponding to positions of the terminals on the integrated circuit; aplurality of contacts of a second conductive material bonded to theplurality of pads, respectively, the terminals of the integrated circuitbeing electrically connected to the contacts only when a pressure isexerted onto the contacts by the terminals of the integrated circuit,each contact having a projecting edge with a roughness produced byforming a piece of the second conductive material with a bonding headafter the piece is bonded to a corresponding one of the plurality ofpads, the method including the steps of: positioning the integratedcircuit to the contactor so that the positions of the terminals on theintegrated circuit match the positions of the contacts on the contactor;applying a pressure to the integrated circuit so that the integratedcircuit is face-down bonded to the contactor, the terminals beingpressed onto the contacts of the contactor to establish electricalconnections between the contacts and the terminals; and electricallytesting the integrated circuit by using the contactor, the base actingto absorb the pressure exerted on the integrated circuit during thetesting.

In the integrated circuit contactor of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, the contacts are produced as stud bumps from the wireof the second conductive material, and it is possible to achievefine-pitch interconnects of the integrated circuit terminals with thecontacts. Each of the contacts has a projecting edge with a roughnessproduced by pulling a wire of the second conductive material apart froma corresponding one of the plurality of pads after the wire is bonded tothe corresponding pad. It is possible to assure good reliability ofelectric connections between the terminals and the contacts of theintegrated circuit contactor, and achieve an increased productivity ofthe contactor with low cost.

In the production method of the integrated circuit contactor of thepresent invention, a wire of a second conductive material is bonded toeach of a plurality of pads, and the wire is pulled apart from acorresponding one of the plurality of pads so as to form a plurality ofcontacts of the second conductive material bonded to the plurality ofpads, respectively, each contact having a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the bonding and pulling of the wire. It ispossible to assure good reliability of electric connections between theterminals and the contacts of the integrated circuit contactor, andachieve an increased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

In the production apparatus of the integrated circuit contactor of thepresent invention, the bonding head and the forming tool are fixed toeach other with no relative movement, and the bonding head and theforming tool are simultaneously operated for two of the plurality ofpads while the base is transported by the conveyor. It is possible toassure good reliability of electric connections between the terminalsand the contacts of the integrated circuit contactor, and achieve anincreased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

In the integrated circuit testing method of a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, each of the contacts has a projecting edge with aroughness produced by pulling a wire of the second conductive materialapart from a corresponding one of the plurality of pads after the wireis bonded to the corresponding pad. The base acts to absorb the pressureexerted on the integrated circuit during the testing. It is possible toassure good reliability of electric connections between the terminals ofthe integrater circuit and the contacts of the contactor during thetesting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C are diagrams for explaining a firstembodiment of an integrated circuit contactor of the present inventionand a production method thereof;

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are diagrams for explaining a third embodiment ofthe integrated circuit contactor of the present invention and aproduction method thereof;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are diagrams for explaining a fifth embodiment ofthe integrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are diagrams for explaining a production method ofthe integrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a sixth embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention, and a production methodthereof;

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams for explaining a production method ofthe integrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C are diagrams for explaining seventh, eighthand ninth embodiments of the integrated circuit contactor of the presentinvention and production methods thereof;

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a tenth embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention and a production methodthereof;

FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B and FIG. 11C are diagrams for explaining an eleventhembodiment of the integrated circuit contactor of the preset inventionand a production method thereof;

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a twelfth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are diagrams for explaining thirteenth andfourteenth embodiments of the integrated circuit contactor of thepresent invention, and production methods thereof;

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a production method of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a production apparatus of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 16A, FIG. 16B and FIG. 16C are diagrams for explaining a sixteenthembodiment of the integrated circuit contactor of the present inventionand a production method thereof;

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a seventeenth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining an eighteenth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a nineteenth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B are diagrams for explaining a twentieth embodimentof the integrated circuit contactor of the present invention and aproduction method thereof;

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-first embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of the contactor ofFIG. 21 connected to an LSI device;

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-second embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-third embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B are diagrams for explaining a production method ofthe integrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-fourth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-fifth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B are diagrams for explaining a twenty-sixthembodiment of the integrated circuit contactor of the present inventionand a production apparatus thereof;

FIG. 29 is a diagram for explaining a production method of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionapparatus thereof;

FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining a production method of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionapparatus thereof;

FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B are diagrams for explaining a twenty-seventhembodiment of the integrated circuit contactor of the present inventionand a production method thereof;

FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-eighth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining a twenty-ninth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining a production method of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention;

FIG. 35A, FIG. 35B and FIG. 35C are diagrams for explaining a thirtiethembodiment of the integrated circuit contactor of the present inventionand a production method thereof;

FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining a thirty-first embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 37 is a diagram for explaining a thirty-second embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof;

FIG. 38 is a diagram for explaining another production method of theintegrated circuit contactor of FIG. 37;

FIG. 39 is a diagram for explaining a thirty-third embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof; and

FIG. 40 is a diagram for explaining a conventional integrated circuitcontactor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A description will now be given of the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C show a first embodiment of an integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention and a production methodthereof. Suppose that the integrated circuit contactor of the presentinvention is adapted for testing an LSI device 40 having terminals 41(see FIG. 5A).

FIG. 1C shows a configuration of the integrated circuit contactor 10A inthe present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1C, the contactor 10A includesa base 11A, a plurality of pads 12A bonded to the base 11A, and aplurality of contacts 16A bonded to the pads 12A respectively. In FIG.1C, only a single pad 12A and a single contact 16A are shown for thesake of simplicity of description.

The base 11A is made of an elastic insulating material, such as apolyimide (PI) resin. The base 11A is elastically deformable. The pads12A are bonded to the base 11 a at positions corresponding to positionsof terminals 41 on an LSI device 40 (FIG. 5A). The pads 12A are made ofa conductive material, such as copper (Cu). In the contactor 10A,external terminals (not shown) are provided on the periphery of the base11A, and the pads 12A are connected to the external terminals by awiring (not shown).

The contacts 16A are produced as stud bumps on the pads 12A from a wireof a conductive material. The contactor 10A of the present embodimenthaving the contacts 16A is different from a conventional LSI sockethaving a leaf spring or the like in that the contactor 10A achieves veryfine pitch interconnects of the integrated circuit terminals with thecontacts 16A.

The contacts 16A are made of a conductive material, and the conductivematerial of the contacts 16A has a hardness larger than a hardness ofthe terminals of the LSI device. In the contactor 10A of the presentembodiment, the conductive material of the contacts 16A is selecteddepending on the kind of the conductive material of the terminals of theLSI device as follows.

(a) When the terminals of the LSI device are made of aluminum (Al), theconductive material of the contacts 16A is a metal selected from amonggold (Au), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), nickel (Ni), etc. or an alloycontaining, as a major constituent of the alloy, the metal selected fromamong these metallic elements. The hardness of these metallic elementsis larger than the hardness of aluminum.

(b) When the terminals of the LSI device are made of a solder alloy, theconductive material of the contacts 16A is a metal selected from amongmetallic elements having a hardness larger than a hardness of the solderalloy, or an alloy containing, as a major constituent of the alloy, themetal selected from among the metallic elements. For example, theconductive material of the contacts 16A in this case is aluminum (Al),silver (Ag), or a solder alloy. The solder alloy as the conductivematerial of the contacts 16A is, for example, Pb—Ag, Pb—Bi, Pb—Sb,Pb—Sn—Bi, Pb—Sn—Sb, Pb—In, or Sn—3Ag.

As described above, in the contactor 10A of the present embodiment, theconductive material of the contacts 16A has a hardness larger than ahardness of the terminals of the LSI device. When the LSI device has alarge number of pins (or the terminals) or when the pressure exerted onthe contactor 10A by the terminals of the LSI device is high, it ispossible to prevent damaging of the contacts 16A of the contactor 10A bythe terminals of the LSI device. Generally, a number of LSI devices arerepetitively connected to the contacts 16A of the integrated circuitcontactor 10A. However, it is possible for the contactor 10A of thepresent embodiment to prevent damaging of the contacts 16A by theterminals of the LSI devices even when the pressure exerted on thecontacts 16A of the contactor 10A by the terminals of the LSI devices ishigh. Hence, it is possible to assure good reliability of electricconnections between the terminals and the contacts 16A of the contactor10A.

In addition, in the contactor 10A of the present embodiment, theconductive material of the contacts 16A is not limited to theabove-mentioned materials. In order to increase the durability of thecontacts 16A, it is desirable that the conductive material of thecontacts 16A is selected as follows: (A) a metal selected from amongmetallic elements (Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt) of group VIII ina periodic table; an alloy containing, as a major constituent of thealloy, a metal selected from among metallic elements of group VIII inthe periodic table; (C) an alloy containing gold (Au) as a majorconstituent of the alloy; and (D) an alloy containing gold (Au) andsilver (Ag) as major constituents of the alloy.

Further, as described above, in the contactor 10A of the presentembodiment, it is necessary to produce the contacts 16A from a wire of aconductive material. Taking account of this point, it is desirable thatthe conductive material of the contacts 16A is a metal selected fromamong palladium (Pd), nickel (Ni), rhodium (Rh), platinum (Pt), gold(Au), and silver (Ag), or an alloy containing, as a major constituent ofthe alloy, a metal selected from among these metallic elements.

The contacts 16A are not produced by plating as in the conventionalmembrane contactor 1 of FIG. 40 which requires a comparatively longtime. Each of the contacts 16A is produced by bonding the wire to acorresponding one of the pads 12A and pulling the wire apart from thecorresponding pad 12A. The contacts 16A can be speedily formed as studbumps, and each contact has a projecting edge with a roughness producedby the bonding and pulling of the wire. The contacts 16A are supportedon the base 11A through the pads 12A, and the base 11A is elasticallydeformable when a pressure is exerted on the contactor 10A by theterminals of the LSI device. Even when there are variations of theheight of the contacts 16A, they may be absorbed by the elasticdeformation of the base 11A. Hence, it is possible to assure goodreliability of electric connections between the terminals of the LSIdevice and the contacts 16A.

Further, in the contactor 10A of the present embodiment, the terminalsof the LSI device are electrically connected to the contacts 16A onlywhen a pressure is exerted onto the contacts 16A by the terminals of theLSI device, and the terminals of the LSI device are separated from thecontacts 16A when no pressure is exerted onto the contacts 16A.

When testing an integrated circuit of the LSI device using the contactor10A of the present embodiment, the integrated circuit testing method iscarried out as follows. First, the integrated circuit is positioned tothe contactor 10A so that the positions of the terminals on theintegrated circuit match the positions of the contacts 16A on thecontactor 10A. Second, a pressure is applied to the integrated circuitso that the integrated circuit is face-down bonded to the contactor 10A,the terminals being pressed onto the contacts 16A of the contactor 10Ato establish electrical connections between the contacts 16A and theterminals. Then, the integrated circuit is electrically tested by usingthe contactor 10A, the base 11A acting to absorb the pressure exerted onthe integrated circuit during the testing. It is possible to assure goodreliability of electric connections between the terminals of the LSIdevice and the contacts 16A during the testing.

Next, a production method of the contactor 10A of the present embodimentwill be explained with reference to FIG. 1A through FIG. 1C.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a base 11A on which a plurality of pads 12A arebonded at positions corresponding to positions of the terminals on theLSI device is prepared. In FIG. 1A, only one pad 12A is shown for thesake of simplicity of description. A bonding head 13 in which a wire 14of the conductive material is inserted is placed above a center of thepad 12A on the base 11A. A ball 15 is formed at the leading edge of thewire 14 by using a welding torch (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1B, the bonding head 13 is lowered to the pad 12A, anda thermosonic bonding is performed with the bonding head 13 so that theball 15 is bonded to the pad 12A. In the thermosonic bonding, the wire14 is compressed while the bonding head 13 is ultrasonically vibrated.

As shown in FIG. 1C, the bonding head 13 is lifted, and the wire 14 ispulled apart from the pad 12A so as to form a contact 16A bonded to thepad 12A. The contact 16A has a projecting edge with a roughness producedby the bonding and pulling of the wire 14. The above procedure isrepeated with respect to each of the plurality of pads 12A on the base11A, and a plurality of contacts 16A bonded to the pads 12A areproduced. Each of the contacts 16A has a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the bonding and pulling of the wire 14.

As described above, according to the production method of the integratedcircuit contactor 10A in the present embodiment, the contactor 10Ahaving the contacts 16A can be produced by utilizing existing wirebonding equipment. It is not necessary to use a newly preparedproduction equipment. Hence, it is possible to achieve an increasedproductivity of the integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the integrated circuit contactor10A in the present embodiment, the size and height of the contacts 16Abeing produced, the diameter of the wire 14 being used, and the bondingconditions (including the diameter of the ball 15, the bonding pressurebeing exerted on the pad 12A, the heating temperature, and theultrasonic energy input) may be controlled so as to form a desired shapeof the contacts 16A and suit the requirement of the LSI device.

According to the production method of the integrated circuit contactor10A in the present embodiment, the contacts 16A can be speedily formedas stud bumps, and each contact has a projecting edge with a roughnessproduced by the bonding and pulling of the wire. This is effective inincreasing the reliability of electric connections between the terminalsof the LSI device and the contacts 16A of the contactor 10A. Althoughthe diameter of the leading edges of the contacts 16A may be increasedwhen the terminals of the LSI device are connected to the contactor 10A,the diameter of the leading edges of the contacts 16A that can beproduced according to the production method of the present embodiment ison the order of 15-20 μm.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the integrated circuit contactor 10B of the presentembodiment includes a plurality of openings 17 in a base 11B atpositions corresponding to positions of the terminals 41 on the LSIdevice 40 (see FIG. 5A). Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1C, thecontactor 10B includes the base 11B, a plurality of pads 12B bonded tothe base 11B, and a plurality of contacts 16B bonded to the pads 12Brespectively. The pads 12B are provided on a bottom surface of the base11B such that the openings 17 are closed by the pads 12B. The contacts16B are respectively provided within the openings 17. In FIG. 2, only asingle opening 17, a single pad 12B and a single contact 16B are shownfor the sake of simplicity of description.

Source materials and configuration of the base 11B, the pads 12B and thecontacts 16B, and a production method of the contactor 10B of thepresent embodiment are essentially the same as those of the embodimentof FIGS. 1A through 1C. The openings 17 may be formed in the base 11B bya press forming, an etching or a laser cutting.

In the contactor 10B of the present embodiment, the contacts 16B arerespectively provided within the openings 17. When a pressure is exertedonto the contactor 10B by the terminals of the LSI device, the LSIdevice is brought into contact with a top surface of the base 11B whilethe terminals of the LSI device are connected to the contacts 16B. It ispossible to prevent the contacts 16B from being excessively compressedby the pressure of the terminals of the LSI device. It is possible forthe contactor 10B of the present embodiment to prevent damaging of thecontacts 16B by the terminals of the LSI device even when the pressureexerted on the contacts 16B of the contactor 10B by the terminals of theLSI devices is high.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show a third embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof. InFIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the elements which are essentially the same ascorresponding elements in FIG. 1A through FIG. 1C are designated by thesame reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3B shows a configuration of the integrated circuit contactor 10C inthe present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3B, the contactor 10C includesthe base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded to the base 11A, and aplurality of contacts 16C bonded to the pads 12A respectively. In thepresent embodiment, each of the contacts 16C is constituted by twopieces of the same conductive material which are laminated together. InFIG. 3B, only a single pad 12A and a single contact 16C are shown forthe sake of simplicity of description. The contact 16C is constituted bya first bump 18A and a second bump 19A which are of the same conductivematerial and laminated together.

In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 16C is constituted bythe two bumps 18A and 19A of the same conductive material. However, thecontactor of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment,and each of the contacts 16C may be constituted by three or more bumpsof the same conductive material.

As shown in FIG. 3A, an integrated circuit contactor in which aplurality of first bumps 18A are bonded to the pads 12A on the base 11Ais prepared (which is essentially the same as the contactor 10A of FIG.1C). The bonding head 13 in which the wire 14 of the conductive materialis inserted is placed above a center of the first bump 18A on the pad12A on the base 11A. A ball 15 is formed at the leading edge of the wire14 by using a welding torch (not shown). The bonding head 13 is loweredto the first bump 18A as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3A, and athermosonic bonding is performed with the bonding head 13 so that theball 15 is bonded to the first bump 18A.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the bonding head 13 is lifted, and the wire 14 ispulled apart from the first bump 18A so as to form a contact 16C bondedto the pad 12A. The contact 16C is constituted by the first bump 18A andthe second bump 19A which are of the same conductive material andlaminated together, and has a projecting edge with a roughness producedby the bonding and pulling of the wire 14. The shape of the second bump19A shown in FIG. 3B is essentially the same as the shape of the firstbump 18A shown in FIG. 3A. The above procedure is repeated with respectto each of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, and a plurality ofcontacts 16C bonded to the pads 12A are produced. Each of the contacts16C has a projecting edge with a roughness produced by the bonding andpulling of the wire 14.

As described above, according to the production method of the integratedcircuit contactor 10C in the present embodiment, the contactor 10Chaving the contacts 16C can be produced by utilizing existing wirebonding equipment. It is not necessary to use a-newly preparedproduction equipment. Hence, it is possible to achieve an increasedproductivity of the integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the integrated circuit contactor10C in the present embodiment, the size and height of the contacts 16Cbeing produced, the diameter of the wire 14 being used, and the bondingconditions (including the diameter of the ball 15, the bonding pressurebeing exerted on the pad 12A, the heating temperature, and theultrasonic energy input) may be controlled so as to form a desired shapeof the contacts 16C and suit the requirement of the LSI device.

According to the production of the integrated circuit contactor 10C inthe present embodiment, the height of the contacts 16C can be varied bychanging the number of the pieces laminated together. Even when thereare variations of the height of the contacts 16C, they may be absorbedby the elastic deformation of the base 11A. Hence, it is possible toassure good reliability of electric connections between the terminals ofthe LSI device and the contacts 16C.

FIG. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the integrated circuit contactor 10D of the presentembodiment includes the base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded tothe base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 16D bonded to the pads 12Arespectively. In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 16D isconstituted by two pieces of different conductive materials which arelaminated together. In FIG. 4, only a single pad 12A and a singlecontact 16D are shown for the sake of simplicity of description. Thecontact 16D is constituted by a first bump 18B and a second bump 19Bwhich are of different conductive materials (for example, gold (Au) andpalladium (Pd)) and laminated together. The shape of the second bump 19Bmay be different from the shape of the first bump 18B. In order toprevent damaging of the contacts 16D of the contactor 10D by theterminals of the LSI device, it is desirable that a hardness of theconductive material of the first bump 18B, which is at a lower position,is smaller than a hardness of the conductive material of the second bump19B, which is at an upper position.

As described above, according to the production method of the integratedcircuit contactor 10D in the present embodiment, the contactor 10Dhaving the contacts 16D can be produced by utilizing existing wirebonding equipment. It is not necessary to use a newly preparedproduction equipment. Hence, it is possible to achieve an increasedproductivity of the integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the integrated circuit contactor10D in the present embodiment, the size and height of the contacts 16Dbeing produced, the diameter of the wire 14 being used, and the bondingconditions (including the diameter of the ball 15, the bonding pressurebeing exerted on the pad 12A, the heating temperature, and theultrasonic energy input) may be controlled so as to form a desired shapeof the contacts 16D and suit the requirement of the LSI device.

According to the production of the integrated circuit contactor 10D inthe present embodiment, the height of the contacts 16D can be varied bychanging the number of the pieces laminated together. Even when thereare variations of the height of the contacts 16D, they may be absorbedby the elastic deformation of the base 11A. Hence, it is possible toassure good reliability of electric connections between the terminals ofthe LSI device and the contacts 16D.

In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 16D is constituted bythe two bumps 18B and 19B of different conductive materials. However,the contactor of the present invention is not limited to thisembodiment, and each of the contacts 16D may be constituted by three ormore bumps of different conductive materials.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B show a fifth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a side view of theintegrated circuit contactor 10E of the present embodiment, and FIG. 5Bis a top view of the integrated circuit contactor 10E. In FIG. 5A andFIG. 5B, the elements which are essentially the same as correspondingelements in FIG. 1C are designated by the same reference numerals, and adescription thereof will be omitted.

Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1C, the contactor 10E of the presentembodiment includes the base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded tothe base 11A, and the plurality of contacts 16A bonded to the pads 12Arespectively. The base 11A is made of an elastic insulating material,such as a polyimide (PI) resin. The base 11A is elastically deformable.

In the contactor 10E, an elastic sheet 20 is further provided, and thebase 11A is attached onto the elastic sheet 20. When the pressureexerted on the contactor 10E by terminals 41 of an LSI device 40 ishigh, the elastic sheet 20 acts to absorb the pressure, and it ispossible to prevent damaging of the contacts 16A of the contactor 10E bythe terminals of the LSI device.

The pads 12A are bonded to the base 11 a at positions corresponding topositions of the terminals 41 on the LSI device 40. The pads 12A aremade of a conductive material, such as copper (Cu). As the polyimideresin and copper are commonly used as the source materials of the base11A and the pads 12A, the contactor 10E of the present embodiment canachieve an increased productivity of the contactor with low-cost.

As shown in FIG. 5B, in the contactor 10E of the present embodiment,external terminals 22 are provided on the periphery of the base 11A, andthe pads 12A are connected to the external terminals 22 by a pattern ofwiring 21. The external terminals 22 are used to detect respectivesignals on the contacts 16A. The pads 12A, the wiring pattern 21, andthe external terminals 22 are formed from a copper layer through etchingto remove undesired portions.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show a production method of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6A, an integrated circuit contactor in which aplurality of bumps 25 are bonded to the pads 12A on the base 11A (thiscontactor is essentially the same as the contactor 10A of FIG. 1C) isprepared by using the bonding head 13. In FIG. 6A, only a single pad 12Aand a single bump 25 are shown for the sake of simplicity ofdescription. After the bumps 25 bonded to the pads 12A are formed, aforming tool 23A which includes a cavity 24A is placed above a center ofa corresponding one of the bumps 25. When the forming tool 23A islowered, the cavity 24A of the forming tool 23A acts to form the bump 25into a predetermined shape.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the forming tool 23A is lowered to the bump 25 soas to form a contact 16E bonded to the pad 12A. The bump 25 is formedinto the shape of the contact 16E by the cavity 24A of the forming tool23A. The above procedure is repeated with respect to each of theplurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 16Ebonded to the pads 12A are produced. In order to achieve the forming ofthe bump 25 into the predetermined shape, a source material of theforming tool 23A has a hardness larger than the hardness of theconductive material of the contacts 16E.

The forming tool 23A in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the bump 25 when forming the bump 25into the contact 16E. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the bump 25 via the forming tool 23A when formingthe bump 25 into the contact 16E.

The forming tool 23A in the present embodiment has, as shown in FIG. 6A,the cavity 24A, and the cavity 24A is used to form one of the bumps 25into the predetermined shape, the cavity 24A not touching neighboringones of the bumps 25 when forming the corresponding bump 25 into thecontact 16E. The plurality of contacts 16E are sequentially produced oneby one by using the forming tool 23A.

As described above, according to the production method of the integratedcircuit contactor in the present embodiment, the contactor having thecontacts 16E can be produced by utilizing existing wire bondingequipment. It is not necessary to use a newly prepared productionequipment. Hence, it is possible to achieve an increased productivity ofthe integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the integrated circuit contactorin the present embodiment, the size and height of the contacts 16E beingproduced, the diameter of the wire 14 being used, and the bondingconditions (including the diameter of the ball 15, the bonding pressurebeing exerted on the pad 12A, the heating temperature, and theultrasonic energy input) may be controlled so as to form a desired shapeof the contacts 16E and suit the requirement of the LSI device. It ispossible for the production method of the present embodiment to producethe contacts 16E with high accuracy by using the forming tool 23A.Hence, it is possible to assure good reliability of electric connectionsbetween the terminals of the LSI device and the contacts 16E.

FIG. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention, and a production method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 7, the contactor 10F of the present embodiment includesthe base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded to the base 11A, and aplurality of contacts 16F bonded to the pads 12A respectively. Theplurality of contacts 16F have respective top surfaces which are leveledwith each other.

In order to make the heights of the contacts 16F on the base 11A equalto each other, the production method of the integrated circuit contactor10F of the present embodiment uses a leveling tool 26A when forming thebumps into the contacts 16F. The leveling tool 26A has a flat bottomsurface which is placed in contact with the bumps on the pads 12A.

According to the production method of the contactor 10F of the presentembodiment, the plurality of contacts 16F are formed by one operation ofthe leveling tool 26A so that the plurality of contacts 16F have therespective top surfaces leveled with each other. Hence, the productionmethod of the present embodiment is more effective in achieving anincreased productivity of the integrated circuit contactor with lowcost.

Although the diameter of the leading edges of the contacts 16F may beincreased when forming the bumps into the contacts 16F by using theleveling tool 26A, the heights of the contacts 16F on the base 11A thatcan be produced according to the production method of the presentembodiment can be accurately leveled with each other. In addition, theproduction method of the present embodiment can more speedily producethe contactor 10F than the production method of the embodiment of FIG.6A and FIG. 6B.

In the production method of the present embodiment, the levelingpressure of the leveling tool 26A exerted on the bumps against the base11A is controlled depending on the number of the bumps included in thecontactor 10F. It is desirable that the leveling pressure of theleveling tool 26A applied during the production is higher than thecontact pressure actually exerted on the contactor 10F by the terminals41 of the LSI device 40 during the testing. Specifically, when thecontact pressure is 10 g/pin, the level pressure of the leveling tool26A is, desirably set at 15 g multiplied by the number of the contacts16F in the contactor 10F.

The leveling tool 26A in the present embodiment is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the bumps when forming thebumps into the contacts 16F. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the bumps via the leveling tool 26A when formingthe bumps into the contacts 16F.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B show a production method of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8A, an integrated circuit contactor in which aplurality of first bumps 18C are bonded to the pads 12A on the base 11A(which is essentially the same as the contactor 10F of FIG. 7) isprepared by using the bonding head 13 and the leveling tool 26A. Byusing the leveling tool 26A, the first bumps 18C on the base 11A haverespective top surfaces which are leveled with each other. After thefirst bumps 18C are formed, the leveling tool 26A is lifted anddislocated.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the bonding head 13 in which the wire 14 of theconductive material is inserted is placed above a center of one of thefirst bumps 18C on the base 11A. The bonding head 13 is lowered to thefirst bump 18C, and the thermosonic bonding is performed with thebonding head 13 so that the ball at the leading edge of the bonding head13 is bonded to the first bump 18C. In the thermosonic bonding, the wire14 is compressed while the bonding head 13 is ultrasonically vibrated.

After a second bump 19C bonded to the first bump 18C is formed throughthe thermosonic bonding, the bonding head 13 is lifted, and the wire 14is pulled apart from the second bump 19C so as to form a contact 16Gbonded to the pad 12A. The contact 16G has a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the bonding and pulling of the wire 14. The aboveprocedure is repeated with respect to each of the plurality of pads 12Aon the base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 16G bonded to the pads 12Aare produced. Each of the contacts 16G has a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the bonding and pulling of the wire 14.

As described above, according to the production method of the integratedcircuit contactor in the present embodiment, the contactor having thecontacts 16G can be produced by utilizing existing wire bondingequipment. It is not necessary to use a newly prepared productionequipment. Hence, it is possible to achieve an increased productivity ofthe integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the integrated circuit contactorin the present embodiment, the first bumps 18C on the base 11A have therespective top surfaces leveled with each other by using the levelingtool 26A, and the second bumps 19C are bonded to the first bumps byusing the bonding head 13, so as to form the plurality of contacts 16Gbonded to the pads 12A on the base 11A. Each of the plurality ofcontacts 16G is constituted by the two pieces 18C and 19C of the sameconductive material which are laminated together. As the bondingstrength of the second bumps 19C to the first bumps 18C can be increasedby the production method of the present embodiment, this makes itpossible to increase the mechanical strength of the contacts 16G in theintegrated circuit contactor. Hence, it is possible to assure goodreliability of electric connections between the terminals 41 of the LSIdevice 40 and the contacts 16G.

In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 16G is constituted bythe two bumps 18C and 19C of the same conductive material. However, thecontactor of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment,and each of the contacts 16G may be constituted by three or more piecesof the same conductive material.

FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C show seventh, eighth and ninth embodimentsof the integrated circuit contactor of the present invention, andproduction methods thereof.

In these embodiments of FIG. 9A through FIG. 9C, a forming tool (whichis similar to the forming tool 23A of FIG. 6A) includes a recessedcavity and a pressing peripheral portion. The recessed cavity is placedinto contact with one of the plurality of contacts on the base of thecontactor when forming the corresponding contact into a predeterminedshape. The pressing peripheral portion is provided around the recessedcavity in the forming tool. The pressing peripheral portion is used tocompress a periphery of the corresponding contact around the center ofthe contact against the base of the contactor when forming thecorresponding contact into the predetermined shape.

The forming tool in these embodiments is provided with a heater (notshown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the bump when forming the bump intothe contact. The ultrasonic vibration source acts to ultrasonicallyvibrate the bump via the forming tool when forming the bump into thecontact. The use of the forming tool in these embodiments allow theforming of each of the plurality of contacts on the contactor into thepredetermined shape with good accuracy. Variations of the shape of theplurality of contacts on the contactor can be eliminated by the use ofthe forming tool.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9A, the forming tool 23B has a recessed cavity24B and a pressing peripheral portion 38A. The recessed cavity 24B isformed in the shape of a truncated cone. The recessed cavity 24B is usedto form a corresponding bump (similar to the bump 25 of FIG. 6A) on thebase 11A into a contact 16H. In the resulting contactor 10G, the contact16H has a projecting edge with a roughness produced by the bonding andpulling of the wire. The pressing peripheral portion 38A is used tocompress a periphery of the corresponding bump around the center of thebump against the base 11A when forming the corresponding bump into thepredetermined shape. The cavity 24B does not touch neighboring ones ofthe bumps on the base 11A when forming the corresponding bump into thecontact 16H. The plurality of contacts 16H are sequentially produced oneby one by using the forming tool 23B. The contactor 10G of the presentembodiment is effective in providing good reliability of electricconnections between the terminals 41 of the LSI device 40 and thecontacts 16H of the contactor 10G.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9B, the forming tool 23C has a recessed cavity24C and a pressing peripheral portion 38B. The recessed cavity 24C isformed in the shape of a cone. The recessed cavity 24C acts to form thecorresponding bump on the base 11A into a contact 16I. In the resultingcontactor 10H, the contact 16I has a projecting edge with a roughnessproduced by the bonding and pulling of the wire. The pressing peripheralportion 38B is used to compress a periphery of the corresponding bumparound the center of the bump against the base 11A when forming thecorresponding bump into the predetermined shape. The cavity 24C does nottouch neighboring ones of the bumps on the base 11A when forming thecorresponding bump into the contact 16I. The plurality of contacts 16Iare sequentially produced one by one by using the forming tool 23C. Thecontactor 10H of the present embodiment is effective in providing goodreliability of electric connections between the terminals 41 of the LSIdevice 40 and the contacts 16I of the contactor 10H.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9C, the forming tool 23D has a recessed cavity24D and a pressing peripheral portion 38C. The recessed cavity 24D isformed in the shape of a stepped cone. The recessed cavity 24D acts toform the corresponding bump on the base 11A into a contact 16J. In theresulting contactor 10I, the contact 16J has a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the bonding and pulling of the wire. The pressingperipheral portion 38C acts to compress a periphery of the correspondingbump around the center thereof against the base 11A when forming thecorresponding bump into the predetermined shape. The cavity 24D does nottouch neighboring ones of the bumps on the base 11A when forming thecorresponding bump into the contact 16J. The plurality of contacts 16Jare sequentially produced one by one by using the forming tool 23C. Thecontactor 101 of the present embodiment is effective in providing goodreliability of electric connections between the terminals 41 of the LSIdevice 40 and the contacts 16J of the contactor 10I.

FIG. 10 shows a tenth embodiment of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention and a production method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 10, the contactor 10J of the present embodimentincludes the base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded to the base 11A,and a plurality of contacts 16K bonded to the pads 12A respectively. Theplurality of contacts 16K have respective top surfaces which are leveledwith each other, and have the same configuration with good accuracy.

In order to make the heights of the contacts 16K on the base 11A equalto each other, the production method of the contactor 10J of the presentembodiment uses a leveling tool 26B when forming the bumps (which aresimilar to the bump 25 of FIG. 6A) into the contacts 16K. The levelingtool 26B has a plurality of equal cavities 24E on its bottom surfacewhich is placed in contact with the bumps on the pads 12A.

According to the production method of the contactor 10J of the presentembodiment, the plurality of contacts 16K are formed by one operation ofthe leveling tool 26B so that the plurality of contacts 16K have therespective top surfaces leveled with each other and the sameconfiguration with good accuracy. Hence, the production method of thepresent embodiment is more effective in achieving an increasedproductivity of the integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

Although the diameter of the leading edges of the contacts 16K may beincreased when forming the bumps into the contacts 16K by using theleveling tool 26B, the heights of the contacts 16K on the base 11A thatcan be produced according to the production method of the presentembodiment can be accurately leveled with each other. In addition, theproduction method of the present embodiment can more speedily producethe contactor 10J than the production method of the embodiment of FIG.6A and FIG. 6B.

In the production method of the present embodiment, the levelingpressure of the leveling tool 26B exerted on the bumps against the base11A is controlled depending on the number of the bumps included in thecontactor 10J. It is desirable that the leveling pressure of theleveling tool 26B applied during the production is higher than thecontact pressure actually exerted on the contactor 10J by the terminals41 of the LSI device 40 during the testing. Specifically, when thecontact pressure is 10 g/pin, the level pressure of the leveling tool26B is, desirably set at 15 g multiplied by the number of the contacts16K in the contactor 10J.

The leveling tool 26B in the present embodiment is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the bumps when forming thebumps into the contacts 16K. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the bumps via the leveling tool 26B when formingthe bumps into the contacts 16K.

FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B and FIG. 11C show an eleventh embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof.

As shown in FIG. 11A, in an integrated circuit contactor which isrepeatedly used with LSI devices over an extended period of time, aplurality of contacts 16L bonded to the pads 12A on the base 11A arerounded. Hereinafter, this contactor will be called the used contactor.The projecting edges of the contacts in the original contactor (which isessentially the same as the contactor 10A of FIG. 1C) are removed fromthe used contactor of FIG. 11A due to wear of the contacts with the LSIdevice terminals. The used contactor of FIG. 11A does not providereliability of electric connections between the LSI device terminals andthe contacts 16L.

In the production method of the contactor 10K of the present embodiment,the rounded contacts 16L of the used contactor of FIG. 11A are formedinto a plurality of contacts 16M, each having a projecting edge 28 witha roughness, as in the contactor 10K of FIG. 11C. It is possible for theproduction method of the present embodiment to increase the operatinglife of the contactor 10K.

As shown in FIG. 11A, a forming tool 23E is placed above a center of acorresponding one of the rounded contacts 16L on the used contactor. Theforming tool 23E includes a cavity 24F and a recess 27 in the middle ofthe cavity 24F. The cavity 24F and the recess 27 are used to form thecorresponding rounded contact 16L on the base 11A into a contact 16Mhaving a predetermined shape. When the forming tool 23E is lowered, thecavity 24F and the recess 27 act to form the rounded contact 16L intothe contact 16M.

As shown in FIG. 11B, the forming tool 23E is lowered to the roundedcontact 16L so as to form the contact 16M on the pad 12A.

As shown in FIG. 11C, the forming tool 23E is lifted from the contact16M. The rounded contact 16L is formed into the predetermined shape ofthe contact 16M by the cavity 24F and the recess 27 of the forming tool23E. The resulting contact 16M has the projecting edge 28 with aroughness produced by the forming of the contact 16M by the forming tool23E. The above procedure is repeated with respect to each of theplurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 16Mon the pads 12A in the contactor 10K are produced. It is possible forthe production method of the present embodiment to increase theoperating life of the contactor 10K.

The forming tool 23E in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the rounded contact 16L when formingthe rounded contact 16L into the contact 16M. The ultrasonic vibrationsource acts to ultrasonically vibrate the rounded contact 16L via theforming tool 23E when forming the rounded contact 16L into the contact16M.

The forming tool 23E in the present embodiment has, as shown in FIG.11A, the cavity 24F and the recess 27, and the cavity 24F and the recess27 are used to form one of the rounded contacts 16L into thepredetermined shape of the contact 16M, the cavity 24F not touchingneighboring ones of the rounded contacts 16L when forming thecorresponding rounded contact 16L into the contact 16M. The plurality ofcontacts 16M are sequentially produced one by one by using the formingtool 23E.

FIG. 12 shows a twelfth embodiment of the integrated circuit contactorof the present invention and a production method thereof.

Similar to the contactor 10A of FIG. 1C, an integrated circuit contactorin which a plurality of bumps (similar to the bump 25 of FIG. 6A) arebonded to the pads 12A on the base 11A is prepared by using the bondinghead 13. Hereinafter, this contactor will be called the intermediatecontactor. As shown in FIG. 12, the contactor 10L of the presentembodiment is produced from the intermediate contactor by using aforming tool 23F. In FIG. 12, only a single pad 12A and a single contact16N are shown for the sake of simplicity of description. After theintermediate contactor is prepared, the forming tool 23F which includesa raised conical portion 29 is placed above a center of a correspondingone of the bumps on the intermediate contactor. When the forming tool23F is lowered, the raised conical portion 29 of the forming tool 23Facts to form the bump into a predetermined shape.

As shown in FIG. 12, the forming tool 23F is lowered to the bump so asto form a contact 16N on the pad 12A. The bump is formed into thepredetermined shape of the contact 16N by the raised conical portion 29of the forming tool 23F. The resulting contact 16N has a recessedconical portion in the center of the contact 16N. The above procedure isrepeated with respect to each of the plurality of pads 12A on the base11A, and a plurality of contacts 16N on the pads 12A are produced.

The forming tool 23F in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the corresponding bump when formingthe bump into the contact 16N. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the corresponding bump via the forming tool 23Fwhen forming the bump into the contact 16N.

The forming tool 23F in the present embodiment has, as shown in FIG. 12,the raised conical portion 29, and the raised conical portion 29 is usedto form a corresponding one of the bumps of the intermediate contactorinto the predetermined shape of the contact 16N, the raised conicalportion 29 not touching neighboring ones of the bumps of theintermediate contactor when forming the corresponding bump into thecontact 16N. The plurality of contacts 16N are sequentially produced oneby one by using the forming tool 23F.

In a case of an LSI device having ball bumps as the terminals of the LSIdevice, the ball bumps of the LSI device can be easily connected to therecessed contacts 16N of the contactor 10L, and the contactor 10L of thepresent embodiment can assure good reliability of electric connectionsof the LSI device ball bumps and the contacts 16N of the contactor 10L.

In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 16N of the contactor 10Lhas the recessed conical portion 30 in the center of the contact 16N.However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.Alternatively, the contacts 16N of the contactor 10L may be formed intoeither a recessed hemispherical portion or a recessed truncated conicalportion.

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B show thirteenth and fourteenth embodiments of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention, and productionmethods thereof.

In the embodiment of FIG. 13A, a forming tool 23G (which is similar tothe forming tool 23A of FIG. 6A) includes a cavity 24G and acoarse-surface forming portion 31A. The coarse-surface forming portion31A is placed into contact with one of the plurality of contacts on thebase 11A of the intermediate contactor when forming the correspondingcontact into a predetermined shape. In the resulting contactor 10M, eachof a plurality of contacts 16P on the pads 12A has a top surface 32Awhich is made coarse by the coarse-surface forming portion 31A. Thecoarse-surface forming portion 31A is provided at a bottom position ofthe forming tool 23G. The coarse-surface forming portion 31A is used tocompress the corresponding contact against the base 11A of theintermediate contactor when forming the corresponding contact into thepredetermined shape.

The forming tool 23G in the embodiment of FIG. 13A is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the bump when forming thebump into the contact 16P. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the bump via the forming tool 23G when formingthe bump into the contact 16P. The use of the forming tool 23G allowsthe forming of each of the plurality of contacts on the intermediatecontactor into the predetermined shape with good accuracy. Variations ofthe shape of the plurality of contacts on the contactor can beeliminated by the use of the forming tool 23G.

In the contactor 10M of the present embodiment, the plurality ofcontacts 16P have the respective top surfaces 32A which are made coarseby using the forming tool 23G. When the terminals 41 of the LSI device40 are connected to the contacts 16P of the contactor 10M, it ispossible to assure good reliability of electric connections between theLSI device terminals 41 and the contacts 16P because of the coarsesurfaces 32A.

In the embodiment of FIG. 13B, a forming tool 23H (which is similar tothe forming tool 23A of FIG. 6A) includes a cavity 24H and aprojection/depression forming portion 33. The projection/depressionforming portion 33 is placed into contact with one of the plurality ofcontacts on the base 11A of the intermediate contactor when forming thecorresponding contact into a predetermined shape. In the resultingcontactor 10N, each of a plurality of contacts 16Q has a top surface 34which is formed into projections and depressions by theprojection/depression forming portion 33. The projection/depressionforming portion 33 is provided at a bottom position of the forming tool23H. The projection/depression forming portion 33 is used to compressthe corresponding contact against the base 11A of the intermediatecontactor when forming the corresponding contact into the predeterminedshape.

The forming tool 23H in the embodiment of FIG. 13B is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the bump when forming thebump into the contact 16Q. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the bump via the forming tool 23H when formingthe bump into the contact 16Q. The use of the forming tool 23H allowsthe forming of each of the plurality of contacts on the intermediatecontactor into the predetermined shape with good accuracy. Variations ofthe shape of the plurality of contacts on the contactor can beeliminated by the use of the forming tool 23H.

In the contactor 10N of the present embodiment, the plurality ofcontacts 16Q have the respective top surfaces 34 which are formed intoprojections and depressions by using the forming tool 23H. When theterminals 41 of the LSI device 40 are connected to the contacts 16Q ofthe contactor 10N, it is possible to assure good reliability of electricconnections between the LSI device terminals 41 and the contacts 16Qbecause of the projection/depression surfaces 34.

FIG. 14 shows a production method of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 14, the integrated circuit contactor produced by theproduction method of the present embodiment is essentially the same asthe contactor 10M of FIG. 13A. In order to produce the contacts 16P withthe coarse surfaces 32A on the contactor 10M, the production method ofthe present embodiment uses a leveling tool 26C when forming the bumps(which are similar to the bump 25 of FIG. 6A) into the contacts 16P. Theleveling tool 26C has a coarse-surface forming portion 31B on a bottomsurface of the leveling tool 26C. The coarse-surface forming portion 31Bis placed in contact with the bumps of the intermediate contactor whenforming the bumps into the contacts 16P.

According to the production method of the present embodiment, theplurality of contacts 16P are formed by one operation of the levelingtool 26C so that the plurality of contacts 16P have the respective topsurfaces which are made coarse by the coarse-surface forming portion31B. Hence, the production method of the present embodiment is effectivein-achieving an increased productivity of the integrated circuitcontactor with low cost.

The production method of the present embodiment can more speedilyproduce the contactor 10M than the production method of the embodimentof FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B.

The leveling tool 26C in the present embodiment is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the bumps when forming thebumps into the contacts 16P. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the bumps via the leveling tool 26C when formingthe bumps into the contacts 16P.

In the above-described embodiments of FIG. 13A through FIG. 14, thecoarse surfaces 32A or the projection/depression surfaces 34 are formedon the contacts 16P or 16Q of the contactor 10M or 10N by thecompression of the forming tool 23G or 23H or the leveling tool 26C ontothe bumps of the intermediate contactor. It is possible for theproduction methods of these embodiments to speedily and easily producethe contactor 10M and the contactor 10N. The plurality of contacts 16Pare formed by one operation of the leveling tool 26C, and it is possiblefor the production method of the embodiment of FIG. 14 to achieve anincreased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

In the above-described embodiments of FIG. 13A through FIG. 14, theproduction method may include, after the step of forming the pluralityof contacts 16P or 16Q having the coarse surfaces 32A or theprojection/depression surfaces 34 is performed, a step of hardening asurface layer of each of the plurality of contacts, so that each contactis covered by the hardened surface layer. By the hardened surface layer,it is possible for the production method to assure good reliability ofelectric connections between the LSI device terminals 41 and thecontacts 16P or 16Q even when the LSI device terminals are covered by ametal oxide film.

FIG. 15 shows a production apparatus of the integrated circuit contactorof the present invention. In FIG. 15, the elements which are essentiallythe same as corresponding elements in FIG. 1A through FIG. 14 aredesignated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereofwill be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 15, a production apparatus 35 of the present embodimentgenerally has the bonding head 13, the forming tool 23D, a conveyor 36,and an image recognition device 37. The conveyor 36 acts to transportthe base 11A on which the plurality of pads 12A are bonded, to a givenlocation. The base 11A is placed on the conveyor 36, and the conveyor 36is capable of transporting the base 11A to a given location in atwo-dimensional manner (or in x-axis and y-axis horizontal directions).The bonding head 14 acts to bond a wire 14 of a conductive material toone of the plurality of pads 12A, and pull the wire apart from the padso as to form a plurality of bumps 25 of the conductive material whichare respectively bonded to the plurality of pads 12A. The forming tool23D acts to form one of the plurality of bumps 25 into a predeterminedshape (or one of the plurality of contacts 16J) after one of theplurality of bumps 25 is bonded to a corresponding one of the pluralityof pads 12A. The image recognition device 37 is provided over theconveyor 36.

The image recognition device 37 includes a CCD (charge-coupled device)camera and an image processing device (not shown). By using the CCDcamera and the image processing device, the image recognition device 37recognizes an alignment mark on the base 11A. In the present embodiment,the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A are used as the alignmentmark. A relative position of the base 11A to the image recognitiondevice 37 is detected based on the result of the recognition of thealignment mark. The conveyor 36 is controlled based on the relativeposition of the base 11A so as to transport the base 11A to the givenlocation. After the base 11A is transported to the given location, thebonding head 13 and the forming tool 23D are positioned to two of theplurality of pads 12A on the base 11A.

In the production apparatus 35 of the present embodiment, the bondinghead 13 and the forming tool 23D are fixed to each other with norelative movement, and the bonding head 13 and the forming tool 23D aresimultaneously operated for two of the plurality of pads 12A on the base11A at the given location. Specifically, in the production apparatus 35of the present embodiment, the bonding head 13 and the forming tool 23Dare secured to a mounting member, and a moving device acts to move themounting member so that the bonding head 13 and the forming tool 23D arepositioned to two of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A.

As described above, in the production apparatus 35 of the presentembodiment, the bonding head 13 and the forming tool 23D are fixed toeach other with no relative movement, and the bonding head 13 and theforming tool 23D are simultaneously operated for two of the plurality ofpads 12A on the base 11A at the given location. It is possible for theproduction apparatus 35 of the present embodiment to consecutivelyperform the bonding step by the bonding head 13 and the forming step bythe forming tool 23D for the plurality of contacts 16J. It is possibleto achieve an increased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the production apparatus 35 includes theforming tool 23D described with the embodiment of FIG. 9C. However, theproduction apparatus of the present invention is not limited to thisembodiment. The production apparatus of the present invention mayinclude any of the forming tools 23A through 23H or the leveling tools26A through 26C described with the embodiments of FIG. 6A through FIG.14.

In the embodiments of FIG. 1A through FIG. 14, the contacts 16A through16Q are formed by utilizing the wire bonding technique. However, thesame effect can be achieved by using instead other bonding techniquessuch as arc welding, plasma welding, electron-beam welding, resistancewelding or the like if the bonding technique is a method to bond a wireof a conductive material to a pad in a projecting condition of the wire.

FIG. 16A, FIG. 16B and FIG. 16C show a sixteenth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof.

FIG. 16C shows a configuration of the integrated circuit contactor 50Ain the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16C, the contactor 50Aincludes the base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded to the base 11A,and a plurality of contacts 56A bonded to the pads 12A respectively. InFIG. 16C, only a single pad 12A and a single contact 56A are shown forthe sake of simplicity of description.

The base 11A and the pads 12A in the present embodiment are essentiallythe same as the base 11A and the pads 12A in the embodiment of FIG. 1Athrough FIG. 1C, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The contacts 56A are produced on the pads 12A from a piece 51 of aconductive material, and formed into a predetermined shape. The piece 51may be formed in the shape of a ball or a sphere. The contactor 50A ofthe present embodiment having the contacts 56A is different from aconventional LSI socket having a leaf spring or the like in that thecontactor 50A achieves very fine pitch interconnects of the integratedcircuit terminals with the contacts 56A.

The contacts 56A or the pieces 51 are made of a conductive material, andthe conductive material has a hardness larger than a hardness of theterminals of the LSI device. In the contactor 50A of the presentembodiment, the conductive material of the contacts 56A is selecteddepending on the kind of the conductive material of the terminals of theLSI device similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1A through FIG. 1C.

As described above, in the contactor 50A of the present embodiment, theconductive material of the contacts 56A has a hardness larger than ahardness of the terminals of the LSI device. When the LSI device has alarge number of pins (or the terminals) or when the pressure exerted onthe contactor 50A by the terminals of the LSI device is high, it ispossible to prevent damaging of the contacts 56A of the contactor 50A bythe terminals of the LSI device. Generally, a number of LSI devices arerepetitively connected to the contacts 56A of the integrated circuitcontactor 50A. However, it is possible for the contactor 50A of thepresent embodiment to prevent damaging of the contacts 56A by theterminals of the LSI devices even when the pressure exerted on thecontacts 56A of the contactor 50A by the terminals of the LSI devices ishigh. Hence, it is possible to assure good reliability of electricconnections between the LSI device terminals and the contacts 56A of thecontactor 50A.

The contacts 56A are not produced by plating as in the conventionalmembrane contactor 1 of FIG. 40 which requires a comparatively longtime. Each of the contacts 56A is produced by bonding the piece 51 to acorresponding one of the pads 12A and forming the piece into thepredetermined shape. The contacts 56A can be speedily formed, and eachcontact 56A has a projecting edge 68A with a roughness produced by thebonding and forming of the piece. The contacts 56A are supported on thebase 11A through the pads 12A, and the base 11A is elasticallydeformable when a pressure is exerted on the contactor 50A by theterminals of the LSI device. Even when there are variations of theheight of the contacts 56A and the terminals, they may be absorbed bythe elastic deformation of the base 11A. Hence, it is possible to assuregood reliability of electric connections between the LSI deviceterminals and the contacts 56A.

Further, in the contactor 50A of the present embodiment, the terminalsof the LSI device are electrically connected to the contacts 56A onlywhen a pressure is exerted onto the contacts 56A by the terminals of theLSI device, and the terminals of the LSI device are separated from thecontacts 56A when no pressure is exerted onto the contacts 56A.

A production method of the contactor 50A of the present embodiment willbe explained with reference to FIG. 16A through FIG. 16C.

As shown in FIG. 16A, a base 11A on which a plurality of pads 12A arebonded at positions corresponding to positions of the terminals on theLSI device is prepared. In FIG. 16A, only one pad 12A is shown for thesake of simplicity of description. A bonding head 53A in which a vacuumpassage 54 extends along a central axis of the bonding head 53A istransported so that the bonding head 53A is positioned above a center ofthe pad 12A on the base 11A. The vacuum passage 54 is connected with avacuum pump (not shown). The piece 51 of the conductive material is heldat the leading edge of the bonding head 53A by subjecting the vacuumpassage 54 to suction.

The bonding head 53A in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the piece 51 when forming the piece51 into the contact 56A. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the piece 51 via the bonding head 53A whenforming the piece 51 into the contact 56A.

As shown in FIG. 16B, the bonding head 53A is lowered to the pad 12A,and a thermosonic bonding is performed with the bonding head 53A so thatthe piece 51 is bonded to the pad 12A. In the thermosonic bonding, thepiece 51 is compressed while the bonding head 53A is ultrasonicallyvibrated. The bonding head 53A includes a cavity 64A at a bottomposition of the bonding head 53A merging with the end of the vacuumpassage 54. The cavity 64A of the bonding head 53A acts to form thepiece 51 into the predetermined shape of the contact 56A when thebonding head 53A is lowered to the pad 12A.

As described above, the thermosonic bonding is performed with thebonding head 53A. During the thermosonic bonding, a surface layer ofeach of the plurality of contacts 56A is hardened by the vibration ofthe bonding head 53A, so that each contact 56A is covered by thehardened surface layer. Hence, the production method of the presentembodiment can assure good reliability of electric connections betweenthe LSI device terminals and the contacts 56A of the contactor 50A.

As shown in FIG. 16C, the bonding head 53A is lifted, and the cavity 64Ais separated from the pad 12A so as to form the contact 56A bonded tothe pad 12A. The contact 56A has a projecting edge 68A with a roughnessproduced by the bonding and forming of the piece 51. The above procedureis repeated with respect to each of the plurality of pads 12A on thebase 11A, and a plurality of contacts 56A bonded to the pads 12A areproduced. Each of the contacts 56A has the projecting edge 68A with aroughness produced by the bonding and forming of the piece 51.

As described above, according to the production method of the integratedcircuit contactor 50A in the present embodiment, the contactor 50Ahaving the contacts 56A can be produced by utilizing existing wirebonding equipment. It is not necessary to use a newly preparedproduction equipment. Hence, it is possible to achieve an increasedproductivity of the integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the contactor 50A in the presentembodiment, the size and height of the contacts 56A being produced, thediameter of the wire 14 being used, and the bonding conditions(including the diameter of the piece 51, the bonding pressure beingexerted on the pad 12A, the heating temperature, and the ultrasonicenergy input) may be controlled so as to form a desired shape of thecontacts 56A and suit the requirement of the LSI device.

According to the production method of the contactor 50A in the presentembodiment, the contacts 56A can be speedily and easily formed by usingthe bonding head 53A, and each contact 56A has the projecting edge 68Awith a roughness produced by the bonding and forming of the piece. Thisis effective in increasing the reliability of electric connectionsbetween the terminals of the LSI device and the contacts 56A of thecontactor 50A.

FIG. 17 shows a seventeenth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof. InFIG. 17, the elements which are essentially the same as correspondingelements in FIG. 16A through FIG. 16C are designated by the samereference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 17, a bonding head 53B which includes the vacuumpassage 54 and a cavity 64B is transported so that the bonding head 53Bis positioned above a center of one of the pads 12A on the base 11A.Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B, the piece 51 of theconductive material is bonded to the pad 12A. When the bonding head 53Bis lowered, the cavity 64B of the bonding head 53B acts to form thepiece 51 into a predetermined shape of a contact 56B.

The bonding head 53B in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the piece 51 when forming the piece51 into the contact 56B. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the piece 51 via the bonding head 53B whenforming the piece 51 into the contact 56B.

The bonding head 53B is lowered to the pad 12A, and a thermosonicbonding is performed with the bonding head 53B so that the piece 51 isbonded to the pad 12A. In the thermosonic bonding, the piece 51 iscompressed while the bonding head 53B is ultrasonically vibrated. Thebonding head 53B includes a cavity 64B at a bottom position of thebonding head 53B, a conical recess 70A at the center of the cavity 64B,merging with the end of the vacuum passage 54, and a pressing peripheralportion 78A between the cavity 64B and the conical recess 70A. Thecavity 64B of the bonding head 53B acts to form the piece 51 into thepredetermined shape of the contact 56B when the bonding head 53B islowered to the pad 12A. The pressing peripheral portion 78A is used tocompress a periphery of the piece 51 around the center of the piece 51against the base 11A when forming the piece 51 into the predeterminedshape. The cavity 64B does not touch neighboring ones of the pads 12A onthe base 11A when forming the piece 51 into the contact 56B. Theplurality of contacts 56B are sequentially produced one by one by usingthe bonding head 53B. The contactor 50B of the present embodiment iseffective in providing good reliability of electric connections betweenthe terminals 41 of the LSI device 40 and the contacts 56B of thecontactor 50B.

As described above, the thermosonic bonding is performed with thebonding head 53B. During the thermosonic bonding, a surface layer ofeach of the plurality of contacts 56B is hardened by the vibration ofthe bonding head 53B, so that each contact 56B is covered by thehardened surface layer. Hence, the production method of the presentembodiment can assure good reliability of electric connections betweenthe LSI device terminals and the contacts 56B of the contactor 50B.

The bonding head 53B in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the piece 51 when forming the piece51 into the contact 56B. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the piece 51 via the bonding head 53B whenforming the piece 51 into the contact 56B.

The bonding head 53B in the present embodiment has the cavity 64B andthe recess 70A, and the cavity 64B and the recess 70A are used to formthe piece 51 into the predetermined shape of the contact 56B, the cavity64B and the recess 70A not touching neighboring ones of the pads 12Awhen forming the piece 51 into the contact 56B. The plurality ofcontacts 56B are sequentially produced one by one by using the bondinghead 53B. The use of the bonding head 53B allows the forming of each ofthe plurality of contacts into the predetermined shape with goodaccuracy. Variations of the shape of the plurality of contacts on thecontactor can be eliminated by the use of the bonding head 53B.

FIG. 18 shows an eighteenth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 18, a bonding head 53C in the present embodimentincludes a plurality of vacuum passages 54 (each corresponding to thepassage 54 of FIG. 17) and a plurality of cavities 64B (eachcorresponding to the cavity 64B of FIG. 17). A plurality of pieces 51are respectively held at the leading edges of the vacuum passages 54 ofthe bonding head 53C by subjecting the vacuum passages 54 to suction.

According to the production method of the contactor of the presentembodiment, the plurality of contacts on the pads 12A are formed fromthe pieces 51 by one operation of the bonding head 53C so that theplurality of contacts have the predetermined shape according to thecavities 64B. Hence, the production method of the present embodiment ismore effective in achieving an increased productivity of the integratedcircuit contactor with low cost.

FIG. 19 shows a nineteenth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 19, a bonding head 53D in the present embodimentincludes the vacuum passage 54, a cavity 64C, and aprojection/depression forming portion 73A. The projection/depressionforming portion 73A is placed into contact with one of the plurality ofpieces 51 on the pads 12A when forming the corresponding piece into apredetermined shape. In the resulting contactor 50C, each of a pluralityof contacts 56C has a top surface 74A which is formed into projectionsand depressions by the projection/depression forming portion 73A. Theprojection/depression forming portion 73A is provided at a bottomposition of the bonding head 53D. The projection/depression formingportion 73A is used to compress the corresponding piece against the base11A when forming the corresponding piece 51 into the predeterminedshape.

The bonding head 53D in the embodiment of FIG. 19 is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the piece 51 when forming thepiece 51 into the contact 56C. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the piece 51 via the bonding head 53D whenforming the piece 51 into the contact 56C.

In the contactor 50C of the present embodiment, the plurality ofcontacts 56C have the respective top surfaces 74A which are formed intoprojections and depressions by using the bonding head 53D. When theterminals 41 of the LSI device 40 are connected to the contacts 56C ofthe contactor 50C, it is possible to assure good reliability of electricconnections between the LSI device terminals 41 and the contacts 56Cbecause of the projection/depression surfaces 74A.

FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B show a twentieth embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention and a production methodthereof. FIG. 20A is a side view of the contactor 50D of the presentembodiment, and FIG. 20B is a top view of the contactor 50D.

As shown in FIG. 20A and FIG. 20B, in the contactor 50D of the presentembodiment, the plurality of contacts 56D have respective top surfaceswhich are formed into cross-shaped slits 76 by using a bonding head 53E.When the terminals 41 of the LSI device 40 are connected to the contacts56D of the contactor 50D, it is possible to assure good reliability ofelectric connections between the LSI device terminals 41 and thecontacts 56D because of the cross-shaped slits 76.

The bonding head 53E in the present embodiment includes the vacuumpassage 54, a cavity 64D, and a cross-shaped slit forming groove 75. Thecross-shaped slit forming groove 75 is placed into contact with one ofthe plurality of pieces 51 on the pads 12A when forming thecorresponding piece into a predetermined shape. In the resultingcontactor 50D, each of the plurality of contacts 56D has a top surfaceformed into the cross-shaped slit 76 by the cross-shaped slit forminggroove 75. The cross-shaped slit forming groove 75 is provided at abottom position of the bonding head 53E. The cross-shaped slit forminggroove 75 is used to compress the corresponding piece 51 against thebase 11A when forming the piece 51 into the predetermined shape.

The bonding head 53E in the embodiment of FIG. 20A is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the piece 51 when forming thepiece 51 into the contact 56D. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the piece 51 via the bonding head 53E whenforming the piece 51 into the contact 56D. According to the productionmethod of the present embodiment, when the terminals 41 of the LSIdevice 40 are connected to the contacts 56D of the contactor 50D, it ispossible to assure good reliability of electric connections between theLSI device terminals 41 and the contacts 56D because of the cross-shapedslits 76.

FIG. 21 shows a twenty-first embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof. FIG.22 shows a configuration of the contactor 50E of FIG. 21 connected tothe LSI device 40.

As shown in FIG. 22, in a case of the LSI device 40 having ball bumps 42as the terminals of the LSI device 40, the ball bumps 42 can be easilyconnected to recessed contacts 56E of a contactor 50E of the presentembodiment. The contactor 50E of the present embodiment can assure goodreliability of electric connections of the LSI device ball bumps 42 andthe contacts 56E.

Similar to the contactor 50B of FIG. 17, an integrated circuit contactorin which a plurality of pieces 51 are bonded to the pads 12A on the base11A is prepared. Hereinafter, this contactor will be called theintermediate contactor. As shown in FIG. 21, the contactor 50E of thepresent embodiment is produced from the intermediate contactor by usinga bonding head 53F. In FIG. 21, only a single pad 12A and a singlecontact 56E are shown for the sake of simplicity of description. Afterthe intermediate contactor is prepared, the bonding head 53F whichincludes a cavity 64E and a raised conical portion 69B is transported sothat the bonding head 53F is positioned above a center of one of thepieces 51 on the intermediate contactor. When the bonding head 53F islowered, the raised conical portion 69B of the bonding head 53F acts toform the bump into a predetermined shape of the contact 56E.

As shown in FIG. 21, the piece 51 is formed into the predetermined shapeof the contact 56E by the raised conical portion 69B of the bonding head53F. The resulting contact 56E has a recessed conical portion 77 in thecenter of the contact 56E. The above procedure is repeated with respectto each of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, and a plurality ofcontacts 56E on the pads 12A are produced.

The bonding head 53F in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the piece 51 when forming the piece51 into the contact 56E. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the corresponding piece 51 via the bonding head53F when forming the piece 51 into the contact 56E.

The bonding head 53F in the present embodiment has the raised conicalportion 69B, and the raised conical portion 69B is used to form one ofthe pieces 51 of the intermediate contactor into the predetermined shapeof the contact 56E, the raised conical portion 69B not touchingneighboring ones of the pads 12A of the intermediate contactor whenforming the piece 51 into the contact 56E. The plurality of contacts 56Eare sequentially produced one by one by using the bonding head 53F.

FIG. 23 shows a twenty-second embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 23, the contactor 50F of the present embodimentincludes a plurality of openings 17 in the base 11B at positionscorresponding to positions of the terminals 41 on the LSI device 40 (seeFIG. 22). Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2, the contactor 50Fincludes the base 11B, the plurality of pads 12B bonded to the base 11B,and a plurality of contacts 56F bonded to the pads 12B respectively. Thepads 12B are provided on a bottom surface of the base 11B such that theopenings 17 are closed by the pads 12B. The contacts 56F arerespectively provided within the openings 17. In FIG. 23, only a singleopening 17, a single pad 12B and a single contact 56F are shown for thesake of simplicity of description.

Source materials and configuration of the base 11B, the pads 12B and thecontacts 56F, and a production method of the contactor 50F of thepresent embodiment are essentially the same as those of the embodimentof FIG. 16A through 16C. The openings 17 may be formed in the base 11Bby a press forming, an etching or a laser cutting.

In the contactor 50F of the present embodiment, the contacts 56F arerespectively provided within the openings 17. When a pressure is exertedonto the contactor 50F by the terminals of the LSI device 40, the LSIdevice is brought into contact with a top surface of the base 11B whilethe terminals of the LSI device are connected to the contacts 56F. It ispossible to prevent the contacts 56F from being excessively compressedby the pressure of the terminals of the LSI device. It is possible forthe contactor 50F of the present embodiment to prevent damaging of thecontacts 56F by the terminals of the LSI device even when the pressureexerted on the contacts 56F of the contactor 50F by the terminals of theLSI devices is high.

FIG. 24 shows a twenty-third embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 24, a bonding head 53G in the present embodimentincludes the vacuum passage 54, a cavity 64F, and a wavy surface formingportion 80. The wavy surface forming portion 80 is placed into contactwith one of a plurality of blocks 52 on the pads 12A when forming thecorresponding piece into a predetermined shape. In the resultingcontactor 50G, each of a plurality of contacts 56G has a top surface 81which is formed into a wavy surface by the wavy surface forming portion80. The wavy surface forming portion 80 is provided at a bottom positionof the bonding head 53G. The wavy surface forming portion 80 is used tocompress the block 52 against the base 11A when forming the block 52into the predetermined shape.

The bonding head 53G in the embodiment of FIG. 24 is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the block 52 when forming theblock 52 into the contact 56G. The ultrasonic vibration source acts toultrasonically vibrate the block 52 via the bonding head 53G whenforming the block 52 into the contact 56G.

In the contactor 50G of the present embodiment, the plurality ofcontacts 56G have the respective top surfaces 81 which are formed intothe wavy surfaces by using the bonding head 53G. When the terminals ofthe LSI device 40 are connected to the contacts 56G of the contactor50G, it is possible to assure good reliability of electric connectionsbetween the LSI device terminals and the contacts 56G because of thewavy top surfaces 81.

FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B show a production method of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 25A, an integrated circuit contactor in which aplurality of first pieces 58A are bonded to the pads 12A on the base 11Ais prepared. A leveling tool 66A has a flat bottom surface, and thebottom surface of the leveling tool 66A is placed in contact with thefirst pieces 58A on the pads 12A. By using the leveling tool 66A, thefirst pieces 58A on the base 11A have respective top surfaces which areleveled with each other. After the first pieces 58A are formed, theleveling tool 66A is lifted and dislocated.

As shown in FIG. 25B, the bonding head 53A in which the vacuum passage54 extends along the central axis of the bonding head 53A is transportedso that the bonding head 53A is positioned above a center of one of thefirst pieces 58A on the base 11A. The vacuum passage 54 is connectedwith a vacuum pump (not shown). A second piece 59A of the conductivematerial is held at the leading edge of the bonding head 53A bysubjecting the vacuum passage 54 to suction. The bonding head 53A islowered to the first piece 58A, and the thermosonic bonding is performedwith the bonding head 53A so that the second piece 59A at the leadingedge of the bonding head 53A is bonded to the first piece 58A. In thethermosonic bonding, the second piece 59A is compressed while thebonding head 53A is ultrasonically vibrated.

After the second piece 59A bonded to the first piece 58A is formedthrough the thermosonic bonding, the bonding head 53A is lifted so as toform a contact 56H bonded to the pad 12A. The contact 56H has aprojecting edge 64A with a roughness produced by the bonding and formingof the second piece 59A. The above procedure is repeated with respect toeach of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, and a plurality ofcontacts 56H bonded to the pads 12A are produced. Each of the contacts56H has a projecting edge with a roughness produced by the bonding andforming of the-second piece 59A.

As described above, according to the production method of the contactorof the present embodiment, the contactor having the contacts 56H can beproduced by utilizing existing wire bonding equipment. Hence, it ispossible to achieve an increased productivity of the integrated circuitcontactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the contactor of the presentembodiment, the first pieces 58A on the base 11A have the respective topsurfaces leveled with each other by using the leveling tool 66A, and thesecond pieces 59A are bonded to the first pieces 58A by using thebonding head 53A, so as to form the plurality of contacts 56H bonded tothe pads 12A on the base 11A. Each of the plurality of contacts 56H isconstituted by the two pieces 58A and 59A of the same conductivematerial which are laminated together. As the bonding strength of thesecond pieces 59A to the first pieces 58A can be increased by theproduction method of the present embodiment, this makes it possible toincrease the mechanical strength of the contacts 56H in the integratedcircuit contactor. Hence, it is possible to assure good reliability ofelectric connections between the terminals of the LSI device 40 and thecontacts 56H.

In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 56H is constituted bythe two pieces 58A and 59A of the same conductive material. However, thecontactor of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment,and each of the contacts 56H may be constituted by three or more piecesof the same conductive material.

FIG. 26 shows a twenty-fourth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention.

FIG. 26 shows a configuration of a contactor 50K which is produced bythe production method of the embodiment of FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B. Asshown in FIG. 26, the contactor 50K includes the base 11A, the pluralityof pads 12A bonded to the base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 56Kbonded to the pads 12A respectively. Each of the contacts 56K isconstituted by the two pieces 58A and 59A of the same conductivematerial.

FIG. 27 shows a twenty-fifth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 27, the integrated circuit contactor 50L of the presentembodiment includes the base 11A, the plurality of pads 12A bonded tothe base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 56L bonded to the pads 12Arespectively. In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 56L isconstituted by two pieces of different conductive materials which arelaminated together. In FIG. 27, only a single pad 12A and a singlecontact 56L are shown for the sake of simplicity of description. Thecontact 56L is constituted by a first piece 58B and a second piece 59Bwhich are of different conductive materials and laminated together. Forexample, the first piece 58B is made of gold (Au) and the second piece59B is made of palladium (Pd). In order to prevent damaging of thecontacts 56L of the contactor 50L by the terminals of the LSI device, itis desirable that a hardness of the conductive material of the firstpiece 58B, which is at a lower position, is smaller than a hardness ofthe conductive material of the second piece 59B, which is at an upperposition.

The production method of the contactor 50L in the present embodiment isessentially the same as the production method of the embodiment of FIG.25A and FIG. 25B. The contactor 50L having the contacts 56L can beproduced by utilizing existing wire bonding equipment. Hence, it ispossible to achieve an increased productivity of the integrated circuitcontactor with low cost.

According to the production method of the contactor 50L of the presentembodiment, the size and height of the contacts 56L being produced, thediameter of the pieces 58B and 59B being used, and the bondingconditions (including the bonding pressure being exerted on the pad 12A,the heating temperature, and the ultrasonic energy input) may becontrolled so as to form a desired shape of the contacts 56L and suitthe requirement of the LSI device.

According to the production method of the contactor 50L of the presentembodiment, the height of the contacts 56L can be varied by changing thenumber of the pieces laminated together. Even when there are variationsof the height of the contacts 56L and the LSI device terminals, they maybe absorbed by the elastic deformation of the base 11A. Hence, it ispossible to assure good reliability of electric connections between theterminals of the LSI device and the contacts 56L.

In the present embodiment, each of the contacts 56L is constituted bythe two pieces 58B and 59B of different conductive materials. However,the contactor of the present invention is not limited to thisembodiment, and each of the contacts 56L may be constituted by three ormore pieces of different conductive materials.

FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B show a twenty-sixth embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention, and a production apparatusthereof.

As shown in FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B, a production apparatus 88A of thepresent embodiment generally has a dispenser 81 and a forming tool 63A.The dispenser 81 acts to dispense a molten drop 55A of a conductivematerial to one of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A. Theforming tool 63A acts to form the drop 55A of the conductive material onthe pad 12A into a contact 56I. By repeating this procedure, a pluralityof contacts 56I of the conductive material bonded to the plurality ofpads 12A are produced, each contact 56I having a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the forming of the drop. In FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B,only a single pad 12A, a single contact 56I and a single drop 55A areshown for the sake of simplicity of description.

The dispenser 81 is connected with a melting device for melting theconductive material and a supplying device for supplying the conductivematerial. A certain amount of the conductive material in a moltencondition is supplied from the supplying device to the dispenser 81. Thedispenser 81 converts the amount of the molten conductive material intothe molten drop 55A and dispenses it to one of the plurality of pads 12Aon the base 11A. The dispenser 81 is attached to a moving device, andthe moving device moves the dispenser 81 so that the dispenser 81 ispositioned to one of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A.

The forming tool 63A includes a cavity 64G, and the cavity 64G is formedin the shape of a cone. The cavity 64G of the forming tool 63A is usedto form the molten drop 55A on the pad 12A into the contact 56I when theforming tool 63A is lowered to compress the molten drop 55A. The cavity64G does not touch neighboring ones of the pads 12A on the base 11A whenforming the molten drop 55A into the contact 56I. The plurality ofcontacts 56I are sequentially produced one by one by using the formingtool 63A.

A production method of producing the integrated circuit contactor 50I ofthe present embodiment by using the production apparatus 88A will now beexplained. As shown in FIG. 28A, the dispenser 81 is moved so that thedispenser 81 is positioned to one of the pads 12A on the base 11A. Thedispenser 81 dispenses the molten drop 55A of the conductive material toone of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A. The drop 55A iselectrically connected to the pad 12A.

As shown in FIG. 28B, the dispenser 81 is moved and separated from thepad 12A. The forming tool 63A is moved so that the forming tool 63A ispositioned to the drop 55A on the pad 12A. The forming tool 63A islowered to form the drop 55A of the conductive material on the pad 12Ainto the contact 56I. The above procedure is repeated with respect toeach of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, so that the pluralityof contacts 56I bonded to the plurality of pads 12A are produced. Eachof the contacts 56I has a projecting edge with a roughness produced bythe forming of the drop 55A by the forming tool 63A.

In the production apparatus 88A of the present embodiment and theproduction method of the contactor 50I, the molten drop 55A of theconductive material is dispensed to one of the pads 12A on the base 11Aby the dispenser 81. It is not necessary to form a piece of theconductive material into a bump as in the embodiments of FIG. 16Athrough FIG. 23, and it is possible to achieve an increased productivityof the contactor with low cost. The production apparatus 88A of thepresent embodiment does not require a holding device which holds thepiece of the conductive material, nor a heater which supplies a thermalenergy to soften the piece when forming the piece into the contact. Theproduction apparatus 88A of the present embodiment can be simply andeasily constructed. Hence, the production apparatus 88A of the presentembodiment can achieve an increased productivity of the contactor withlow cost.

In the present embodiment, the conductive material of the contacts 56Imay be gold (Au), palladium (Pd), a solder alloy, or an alloycontaining, as a major constituent of the alloy, any of gold (Au),palladium (Pd) and a solder alloy.

FIG. 29 shows a production method of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention, and a production apparatus thereof.

In the embodiment of FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B, the production apparatus 88Aincludes the dispenser 81 and the forming tool 63 which are separatelyprovided. As shown in FIG. 29, a production apparatus 88B of the presentembodiment includes only a forming tool 63B which incorporates adispenser therein.

The forming tool 63B includes a dispensing passage 82 extending along acentral axis of the forming tool 63B. The dispensing passage 82 acts todispense a molten drop 55A of a conductive material to one of theplurality of pads 12A on the base 11A. The forming tool 63B furtherincludes a cavity 64H merging with an end of the dispensing passage 82.The cavity 64H acts to form the drop 55A of the conductive material onthe pad 12A into a contact 56J. By repeating this procedure, a pluralityof contacts 56I of the conductive material bonded to the plurality ofpads 12A are produced, each contact 56J having a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the forming of the drop. In FIG. 29, only a singlepad 12A, a single contact 56J and a single drop 55A are shown for thesake of simplicity of description.

In the production apparatus 88B of the present embodiment and theproduction method of the contactor 50J, the dispensing of the moltendrop 55A of the conductive material to one of the pads 12A and theforming of the drop 55A into the contact 56J are performed by using theforming tool 63B only. Hence, it is possible to achieve a furtherincreased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

The production apparatus 88B of the present embodiment does not requirea holding device which holds the piece of the conductive material, nor aheater which supplies a thermal energy to soften the piece when formingthe piece into the contact. The production apparatus 88B of the presentembodiment can be simply and easily constructed. Hence, the productionapparatus 88B of the present embodiment can achieve an increasedproductivity of the contactor with low cost.

FIG. 30 shows a production method of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention, and a production apparatus thereof. In FIG. 30,the elements which are essentially the same as corresponding elements inFIG. 28A and FIG. 28B are designated by the same reference numerals, anda description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 30, a production apparatus 88C of the presentembodiment generally has a dispenser and the forming tool 63A. Thedispenser includes a wire 57 of a conductive material, and a weldingtorch 83. The welding torch 83 heats the wire 57 of the conductivematerial to a temperature above a melting point of the conductivematerial so as to produce a molten drop 55B. The drop 55B is dispensedto one of the plurality of pads 12A on the base 11A. The forming tool63A, which is the same as the forming tool 63A of FIG. 28B, acts to formthe drop 55B of the conductive material on the pad 12A into a contact.By repeating this procedure, a plurality of contacts of the conductivematerial bonded to the plurality of pads 12A are produced, each contacthaving a projecting edge with a roughness produced by the forming of thedrop. In FIG. 30, only a single pad 12A and a single drop 55B are shownfor the sake of simplicity of description.

In the present embodiment, the conductive material of the wire 57 may begold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), nickel (Ni), rhodium (Rh), asolder alloy, or an alloy containing, as a major constituent of thealloy, any of gold (Au), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt) and rhodium (Rh).The welding torch 83 may be replaced by a spark rod or a heating head.

In the production apparatus 88C of the present embodiment and theproduction method of the contactor, the molten drop 55B of theconductive material is dispensed to one of the pads 12A on the base 11A.It is not necessary to form a piece of the conductive material into abump as in the embodiments of FIG. 16A through FIG. 23, and it ispossible to achieve an increased productivity of the contactor with lowcost. The production apparatus 88C of the present embodiment does notrequire a holding device which holds the piece of the conductivematerial, nor a heater which supplies a thermal energy to soften thepiece when forming the piece into the contact. The production apparatus88C of the present embodiment can be simply and easily constructed.Hence, the production apparatus 88C of the present embodiment canachieve an increased productivity of the contactor with low cost.

In the previous embodiments of FIG. 16A through FIG. 24, the bondingheads 53A through 53G have the forming function to form the piece intothe predetermined shape of the contact. However, according to thepresent invention, the forming tool of the production apparatus 88A, 88Bor 88C in the embodiments of FIG. 28A through FIG. 30 may be adapted tohave the forming function of such bonding heads and used in theembodiments of FIG. 16A through FIG. 24. A description will be now begiven of such variations and modifications of the production apparatusof the present invention, and embodiments of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention produced by such productionapparatus, with reference to FIG. 31A through FIG. 38.

FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B show a twenty-seventh embodiment of the integratedcircuit contactor of the present invention and a production methodthereof.

As shown in FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B, a forming tool 63C of the presentembodiment has a recessed cavity 64I. The recessed cavity 64I is formedin the shape of a truncated cone. The recessed cavity 64I is used toform one of the intermediate contacts 56A (which is similar to thecontact 56A of FIG. 16C) on the pads 12A of the intermediate contactorinto a contact 56M. In the resulting contactor 50M, the contact 56M hasa projecting edge with a roughness produced by the forming of theintermediate contact 56A by the forming tool 63C. The recessed cavity64I does not touch neighboring ones of the pads 12A on the base 11A whenforming the intermediate contact 56A into the contact 56M. The pluralityof contacts 56M are sequentially produced one by one by using theforming tool 63C. The contactor 50M of the present embodiment iseffective in providing good reliability of electric connections betweenthe LSI device terminals and the contacts 56M of the contactor 50M. Theuse of the forming tool 63C allows the forming of each of the pluralityof contacts 56M into the predetermined shape with good accuracy.Variations of the shape or height of the plurality of contacts 56M onthe contactor 50M can be eliminated by the use of the forming tool 63C.

FIG. 32 shows a twenty-eighth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production.method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 32, a forming tool 63D of the present embodiment has arecessed cavity 64J. The cavity 64J is formed to have a stepped centralportion and a pressing peripheral portion 78B. The cavity 64J is used toform one of the intermediate contacts (which may be either the contact56A of FIG. 16C or the molten drop 55A of FIG. 28A) on the pads 12A ofthe intermediate contactor into a contact 56N. The pressing peripheralportion 78B is used to compress a periphery of the intermediatecontactor around the center thereof against the base 11A when formingthe intermediate contact into a predetermined shape of the contact 56N.In the resulting contactor 50N, the contact 56N has a projecting edgewith a roughness produced by the forming of the intermediate contact bythe forming tool 63D. The use of the pressing peripheral portion 78B andthe stepped central portion in the forming tool 63D allows an increaseof the stiffness of the contact 56N and an increase of the contactpressure for the LSI device terminals. The cavity 64J does not touchneighboring ones of the pads 12A on the base 11A when forming theintermediate contact into the contact 56N. The plurality of contacts 56Nare sequentially produced one by one by using the forming tool 63D.

The contactor 50N of the present embodiment is effective in providinggood reliability of electric connections between the LSI deviceterminals and the contacts 56N of the contactor 50N. The use of theforming tool 63D allows the forming of each of the plurality of contacts56N into the predetermined shape with good accuracy. Variations of theshape or height of the plurality of contacts 56N on the contactor 50Ncan be eliminated by the use of the forming tool 63D.

FIG. 33 shows a twenty-ninth embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

As shown in FIG. 33, a forming tool 63E of the present embodiment has araised conical portion 69C at a bottom position of the forming tool 63E.The raised conical portion 69C acts to form one of the intermediatecontacts (which may be either the contact 56A of FIG. 16C or the moltendrop 55A of FIG. 28A) on the pads 12A of the intermediate contactor intoa contact 56P. In the resulting contactor 50P, the contact 56P has arecessed conical portion 70B in the center of the contact 56P, and theportion 70B has a roughness produced by the forming of the intermediatecontact by the forming tool 63E. The forming tool 63E does not touchneighboring ones of the pads 12A on the base 11A when forming theintermediate contact into the contact 56P. The plurality of contacts 56Pare sequentially produced one by one by using the forming tool 63E. Thecontactor 50P of the present embodiment is effective in providing goodreliability of electric connections between the LSI device ball bumpsand the contacts 56P of the contactor 50P.

FIG. 34 shows a production method of the integrated circuit contactor ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 34, a leveling tool 66B having a plurality of equalcavities 64K on its bottom surface is used in the production method ofthe present embodiment. The leveling tool 66B is placed in contact withthe intermediate contacts (which may be either the contact 56A of FIG.16C or the molten drop 55A of FIG. 28A) on the pads 12A of theintermediate contactor. The plurality of equal cavities 64K act to formthe intermediate contacts on the pads 12A of the intermediate contactorinto a plurality of contacts 56Q. In the resulting contactor 50Q, thecontacts 56Q have the predetermined shape of each cavity 64K of theforming tool 66B, each contact 56Q having a projecting edge with aroughness produced by the forming of the intermediate contacts by theforming tool 66B.

The contactor 50Q of the present embodiment is effective in providinggood reliability of electric connections between the LSI device ballbumps and the contacts 56Q of the contactor 50Q. Further, according tothe production method of the contactor 50Q of the present embodiment,the plurality of contacts 56Q are formed by one operation of theleveling tool 66B so that the plurality of contacts 56Q have therespective top surfaces leveled with each other and the sameconfiguration with good accuracy. Hence, the production method of thepresent embodiment is effective in achieving an increased productivityof the integrated circuit contactor with low cost.

The shape and height of the contacts 56Q produced according to theproduction method of the present embodiment can be held with goodaccuracy. In addition, the production method of the present embodimentcan speedily produce the contactor 50Q having the contacts 56Q.

FIG. 35A, FIG. 35B and FIG. 35C show a thirtieth embodiment of theintegrated circuit contactor of the present invention and a productionmethod thereof.

As shown in FIG. 35A, in an integrated circuit contactor which isrepeatedly used with LSI devices over an extended period of time, theplurality of contacts bonded to the pads 12A on the base 11A are rounded(such contactor will be called the used contactor). The projecting edgesof the contacts in the original contactor are removed from the usedcontactor due to wear of the contacts with the LSI device terminals. Theused contactor of FIG. 35A does not provide reliability of electricconnections between the LSI device terminals and the contacts 56R.

In the production method of the contactor 50R of the present embodiment,the rounded contacts 56R of the used contactor of FIG. 35A are formedinto a plurality of contacts 56S, each having a projecting edge 68B witha roughness produced by the forming, as in the contactor 50R of FIG.35C. It is possible for the production method of the present embodimentto increase the operating life of the contactor 50R.

As shown in FIG. 35A, a forming tool 63F is placed above a center of acorresponding one of the rounded contacts 56R on the used contactor. Theforming tool 63F includes a cavity 64L and a recess 67 in the middle ofthe cavity 64L. The cavity 64L and the recess 67 are used to form thecorresponding rounded contact 56R on the base 11A into a contact 56Shaving a predetermined shape. When the forming tool 63F is lowered, thecavity 64L and the recess 67 act to form the rounded contact 56R intothe contact 56S.

As shown in FIG. 35B, the forming tool 63F is lowered to the roundedcontact 56R so as to form the contact 56S on the pad 12A.

As shown in FIG. 35C, the forming tool 63F is lifted from the contact56S. The rounded contact 56R is formed into the predetermined shape ofthe contact 56S by the cavity 64L and the recess 67 of the forming tool63F. The resulting contact 56S has the projecting edge 68B with aroughness produced by the forming of the contact 56S by the forming tool63F. The above procedure is repeated with respect to each of theplurality of pads 12A on the base 11A, and a plurality of contacts 56Son the pads 12A in the contactor 50R are produced. It is possible forthe production method of the present embodiment to increase theoperating life of the contactor 50R.

The forming tool 63F in the present embodiment is provided with a heater(not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). The heatersupplies a thermal energy to soften the rounded contact 56R when formingthe rounded contact 56R into the contact 56S. The ultrasonic vibrationsource acts to ultrasonically vibrate the rounded contact 56R via theforming tool 63F when forming the rounded contact 56R into the contact56S.

The forming tool 63F in the present embodiment has, as shown in FIG.35A, the cavity 64L and the recess 67, and the cavity 64L and the recess67 are used to form one of the rounded contacts 56R into thepredetermined shape of the contact 56S, the forming tool 63F nottouching neighboring ones of the rounded contacts 56R when forming thecorresponding rounded contact 56R into the contact 56S. The plurality ofcontacts 56S are sequentially produced one by one by using the formingtool 63F.

FIG. 36 shows a thirty-first embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

In the embodiment of FIG. 36, a forming tool 63G includes a cavity 64Mand a coarse-surface forming portion 71. The coarse-surface formingportion 71 is placed into contact with one of the plurality of contacts(which may be either the contact 56A of FIG. 16C or the molten drop 55Aof FIG. 28A) on the base 11A of the intermediate contactor when formingthe corresponding contact into a predetermined shape. In the resultingcontactor 50S, each of a plurality of contacts 56T on the pads 12A has atop surface 72 which is made coarse by the coarse-surface formingportion 71. The coarse-surface forming portion 71 is provided at abottom position of the forming tool 63G. The coarse-surface formingportion 71 is used to compress the corresponding contact against thebase 11A of the intermediate contactor when forming the correspondingcontact into the predetermined shape.

The forming tool 63G in the embodiment of FIG. 36 is provided with aheater (not shown) and an ultrasonic vibration source (not shown). Theheater supplies a thermal energy to soften the bump when forming theintermediate contact into the contact 56T. The ultrasonic vibrationsource acts to ultrasonically vibrate the bump via the forming tool 63Gwhen forming the bump into the contact 56T. The use of the forming tool63G allows the forming of each of the plurality of contacts on theintermediate contactor into the predetermined shape with good accuracy.Variations of the shape of the plurality of contacts on the contactorcan be eliminated by the use of the forming tool 63G.

In the contactor 50S of the present embodiment, the plurality ofcontacts 56T have the respective top surfaces 72 which are made coarseby using the forming tool 63G. When the terminals of the LSI device 40are connected to the contacts 56T of the contactor 50S, it is possibleto assure good reliability of electric connections between the LSIdevice terminals and the contacts 56T because of the coarse surfaces 72.

FIG. 37 shows a thirty-second embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

In the production method of the embodiment of FIG. 37, after or duringthe step of forming the plurality of intermediate contacts (which may beeither the contact 56A of FIG. 16C or the molten drop 55A of FIG. 28A)into a plurality of contacts on the pads 12A, a step of hardening asurface layer of each of the plurality of contacts is further performedby using a forming tool 63H. Each of the resulting contacts 56U iscovered by the hardened surface layer.

Specifically, in the production method of the embodiment of FIG. 37, theforming tool 63H has a cavity 64N which is similar to the cavity 64L ofthe forming tool 63F of FIG. 35A. During the step of hardening, theforming tool 63H is ultrasonically vibrated so as to harden the surfacelayer of one of the plurality of contacts 56U. The contactor 50T of thepresent embodiment in which each contact 56U is covered by the hardenedsurface layer can prevent damaging of the contacts 56U by the terminalsof the LSI device even when the pressure exerted on the contacts 56U ofthe contactor 50T by the terminals of the LSI devices is high. It ispossible to assure good reliability of electric connections between theLSI device terminals and the contacts 56U because of the hardenedsurface layers thereof.

FIG. 38 shows another production method of the integrated circuitcontactor of FIG. 37.

In the production method of the embodiment of FIG. 38, a forming tool63I has a cavity 64P which is similar to the cavity 64L of the formingtool 63F of FIG. 35A, and a power supply 84 which is electricallyconnected to the forming tool 63I. During the step of hardening, apredetermined voltage from the power supply 84 is supplied to theforming tool 63I to produce a discharge between the forming tool 63I andone of the plurality of contacts 56U. Hence, a surface layer of one ofthe plurality of contacts 56U is hardened by the discharge produced. Thecontactor 50T of the present embodiment in which each contact 56U iscovered by the hardened surface layer can prevent damaging of thecontacts 56U by the terminals of the LSI device even when the pressureexerted on the contacts 56U of the contactor 50T by the terminals of theLSI devices is high. It is possible to assure good reliability ofelectric connections between the LSI device terminals and the contacts56U because of the hardened surface layers thereof.

FIG. 39 shows a thirty-third embodiment of the integrated circuitcontactor of the present invention and a production method thereof.

In the production method of the embodiment of FIG. 39, after or duringthe step of forming the plurality of intermediate contacts (which may beeither the contact 56A of FIG. 16C or the molten drop 55A of FIG. 28A)into a plurality of final contacts, a step of plating a surface of eachof the plurality of final contacts with another conductive material isfurther performed. As shown in FIG. 39, in order to perform the plating,the base 11A is covered by a mask 85 at positions other than thepositions of the contacts 56A on the base 11A, and openings 87 areformed at the positions of the contacts 56A. The surface of eachresulting contact is covered by the plating 86 of the conductivematerial. The plating 86 of the conductive material (for example, gold(Au), palladium (Pd) or rhodium (Rh)) has a hardness larger than ahardness of the contacts 56A.

Alternatively, a sputtering or evaporation technique may be performedinstead of the plating in the production method of the presentembodiment.

According to the production method of the present embodiment, it ispossible to easily and speedily produce the plated layer 86 of each ofthe resulting contacts in the contactor 50U. It is possible to assuregood reliability of electric connections between the LSI deviceterminals and the contacts because of the plated layers thereof.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments,and variations and modifications may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention.

Further, the present invention is based on Japanese priority applicationNo. 10-061,594, filed on Mar. 12, 1998, and Japanese priorityapplication No. 10-139,040, filed on May 20, 1998, the entire contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit contactor for testing anintegrated circuit having terminals, comprising: a base of an insulatingmaterial, the base being elastically deformable; a plurality of pads ofa first conductive material bonded to the base at positionscorresponding to positions of the terminals on the integrated circuit; aplurality of contacts of a second conductive material bonded to theplurality of pads, respectively, the terminals of the integrated circuitbeing electrically connected to the contacts onto which the terminals ofthe integrated circuit exert pressure, each contact being formed to havea projecting edge with roughness produced by compression of a piece ofthe second conductive material against the base with a bonding headafter the piece is bonded to a corresponding one of the plurality ofpads, wherein said projecting edge of each compressed contact has apointed conical shape.
 2. The integrated circuit contactor according toclaim 1, wherein the second conductive material of the contacts has ahardness greater than a hardness of the terminals of the integratedcircuit.
 3. The integrated circuit contactor according to claim 1,wherein the insulating material is a polyimide resin, the base beingformed of a thin layer of the polyimide resin.